


Borderlines

by vipmultifandom



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood & Violence, Character Death, Friendship, Gen, Human Experiments, I can’t believe I tagged all the characters, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Mad Scientists, Survival
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:21:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24259585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vipmultifandom/pseuds/vipmultifandom
Summary: As long as Hinata could remember the people in the world he grew up in belonged to 6 different groups: Karasuno, Nekoma, fukurodani,  dateko, aobajosai, and shiratorizawa.He was too young to know what had happened to the country once known as Japan, and he never asked.They were all separated by borders, claiming territory around the city once known as Tokyo.Hinata never thought his happiness with them would ever end.But he was wrong. Very wrong.Everything changed when the shiratorizawa nation attacked.Now, as the remaining humans try to survive, they realize that borderlines they once created are no more.So what will happen if a certain evil group crosses the border of right and wrong, and claims to capture them all?And What if the enemy wasn’t the one who they had thought all along?Once a peaceful land, it’s now kill or be experimented on rather than be killed. Will they survive? Or will they end up all dead like the Johzenji massacre years ago?
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou & Haiba Lev & Hinata Shouyou & Kuroo Tetsurou & Tsukishima Kei, Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou & Hinata Shouyou & Kuroo Tetsurou, Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou & Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou, Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou & Tsukishima Kei, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou/Haiba Lev/Hinata Shouyou/Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Aone Takanobu & Hinata Shouyou, Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou, Haiba Lev & Hinata Shouyou, Hinata Shouyou & Kozume Kenma, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 17
Kudos: 68





	1. Prologue

As long as Hinata could remember the people in the world he grew up in belonged to 6 different groups: karasuno, nekoma, fukurodani, dateko, aobajosai, and shiratorizawa.  
He was too young to know what had happened to the country once known as Japan, and he never asked.

He lived his life with his family, karasuno, and his friends nekoma and fukurodani.  
They were all separated by borders, claiming territory around the city once known as Tokyo. 

Karasuno didn’t own much territory as aobajosai or shiratorizawa who often or not fought for claims on the abandoned city. Aobajosai claimed the west, while shiratorizawa the East, and Dateko the north. 

His family lived in the southern outskirts with their territory half in part of a forest and half of what was remained behind by Aobajosai and Shiratorizawa. 

Fukurodani had the rest of the vast forest.  
Daichi once told Hinata that Fukurodani once ruled the whole forest. But when karasuno was struggling with the massacre years ago, Fukurodani had given them a share of their territory. In return, when Karasuno grew and gained more territory, they gave Fukurodani and Nekoma a whole street in the city, never forgetting the favor. 

Nekoma ruled the underworld. Quite literally. When Aobajoshi and Shiratorizawa fought for the city, nekoma created a whole underground network, using the mazes of what had once been a sewer system to their advantage. They lived down there, hiding away from the gruesome massacre. When things had calmed down, karasuno had given them half a street above their only entrance, the other side “belonging” to fukurodani. 

But his whole life, hinata didn’t care about the borderlines. And neither did Kenma or Lev, or even Bokuto, the leader of Fukurodani. Probably no one in the 3 groups did. 

Hinata’s childhood was filled with memories of the 3 families practically living together. The kids of the 3 different groups often went to each other’s territories and had sleepovers, with or without permission. The older ones often went hunting together or went on adventures and caused mischief that drove the leaders crazy.  
The leaders themselves were also close to each other, and often depended on one another for advice (and sanity from the kids). 

In the end of the day, they were a each separate family, but they weren’t alliances or acquaintances anymore. No they were more than that. Each group welcomed each members as if they were their own, taking care of each other. They were more like extended families, who just lived a few places apart.

Hinata never thought his happiness with them would ever end.  
But he was wrong. Very wrong. 

Everything changed when the shiratorizawa nation attacked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my first au Apocalypse fic...  
> um enjoy? 
> 
> Is the last line abit familiar?  
> Lol. After rewatching haikyuu on Netflix with my brother, we started rewatching avatar the last air bender :) 
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments


	2. Characters!! (Not a chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So there are so many characters in this fic, that I decided to create a list! 
> 
> Always comeback here if you forget who is who lol.
> 
> These are the characters currently of the beginning of the fic, and the names stated here are the names they are called by in this fic, with a few (but not many) exceptions. (Such as nicknames as well as certain characters just use first names by certain people) 
> 
> Blank/nothing next a name means they are alive 
> 
> ??? Means unknown if alive 
> 
> Dead means well they’re dead when at the time this story starts. 
> 
> Also, the age are (about) 3 years apart.  
> Third years are 6 years older than the first years, 3 years older than the second years. 
> 
> The second years are 3 years younger than the third years, 3 years older than the first years. 
> 
> The first years are 6 years younger than the third years, and 3 years younger than the second years. 
> 
> Also this fic is tagged major character death, but it’s more of minor characters deaths that I cry about:) maybe a major character death. Maybe not. Who knows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a link to basically this list, canon to the world of haikyuu! With pictures of each character’s lmao
> 
> https://haikyuu.fandom.com/wiki/Characters

Karasuno (aka Crows) 

Dachi (captain/leader)  
Sugawara ( vice captain)  
Asahi  
Nishinoya  
Tanaka  
Ennosita  
Kageyama (formerly of aobajoshi)  
Hinata  
Tsukishima  
Yamaguchi  
Kiyoko (aka shimizu, but rarely uses the name)  
Yachi  
Ukai (??) (original leader)  
Kinoshita (dead)  
Narita (dead) 

Nekoma (Aka cats ) 

Kuroo (captain/leader)  
Kenma  
Lev  
Kai (vice captain) (???)  
Yaku (???)  
Inuoka (???)  
Fukuhaga (dead)  
Teshiro ( dead)  
Shibayama (dead)  
Nekomata (former leader) (dead) 

Fukurodani (aka owls ) 

Bokuto (captain)  
Akashi (vice captain )  
Konoha  
Komi  
Washiro  
Onaga (dead)  
Sarukui (dead)  
Yuki (dead)  
Kaori (dead) 

Aobajoshi (aka Sehjoh, warriors) 

Oikawa (captain/leader)  
Iwaizumi (vice captain)  
Kindaichi  
Kunimi  
Kyotani  
Watari (???)  
Hanamaki (???)  
Yahaba (???)  
Matsukawa (dead)

Shiratorizawa (aka eagles)

Ushijima (captain/leader)  
Semi (vice captain)  
Leon  
Tendo  
Goshiki  
Shinabu  
Kawanishi  
Yamagata (dead) 

Dateko (aka techies) 

Moniawa (captain)  
Kamasaki (vice captain)  
Aone  
Futakuchi  
Kogane  
Mai (Aka nametsu)  
Obara (???)  
Sakuanmi (???)  
Onagawa (dead)  
Fukiage (dead) 

Johzenji was massacred, leaving these 2 as the lone survivors  
Terushima (???)  
Misaki (???) 

Others  
in the world of haikyuu they are in different schools but they are shown occasionally. In this fic, they do not have an association with anyone......  
or do they?

Sasuka  
Komori  
Hoshimi  
Daishio  
Osamu Miya  
Atsumu Miya 

Others (minor)  
In the world of haikyuu they are minor schools/minor characters that they appear.  
In the fic, They are mentioned occasionally by the older members remembering life before the massacre. 

Ikejiri (dead) (dachi’s childhood friend, was once offered to join karasuno)  
Gora(???) (once allies with fukurodani and nekoma)  
Ogano(???) (once allies with Fukurodani and Nekoma)  
Chigaya (???) (once allies with fukurodani and nekoma, as well as once met by Kageyama)  
Hyakuzawa (???) (once met by hinata and ukai)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow that’s a hella a lot of characters... I hope I don’t get confused when I’m writing lol


	3. A chance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’s 3:30 am here, so I will fix any errors as soon as I can, apologized before hand!!

Hinata grasped the rail nervously, waiting for the signal. He still couldn’t believe that the group of 3 managed to get inside of shiwatoriwaza’s building.

Something will go wrong, hinata thought. And it did. Because of course it did.  
He didn’t hear him coming, so when he turned around to see tendo’s crazy eyes, he was just as shocked as the other. Tendo looked at him. Hinata looked at him back. Neither of them spoke a word, staring at each other. As soon as tendo’s mouth formed to create words, hinata ran. He ran as the red hair screamed,”intruders!!!” In his shrill voice. 

And just like that tsukishima was by his side, running with him. 

“Hinata, you idiot,” the blonde spat out. 

“Shut up, Stingyshima“ hinata snarled back. 

“Split up. Meet at the entrance. Nishinoya finally got what we came looking for.” 

Hinata didn’t need to told twice. He ran to the left, leaving tsukishima behind. He heard footsteps behind and an annoying voice that could only belong to tendo yelling to get him. He turned to the left and his luck ran out. He bumped into semi and shirabu. Both of them lunged to get him. 

Hinata grinned. He may have run out of luck but he still had skill on his side. He jumped to the left, and pushed his feet against the wall. For a moment, the orange hair flew over the shocked members of shiwatoriwaza’s heads. But it was only a moment though. 

He landed on his feet, but he rolled to the ground due to the momentum. Hinata let himself roll, and he pulled himself up off the ground with his hands. 

Man, if only nishinoya saw him! He just did a mini rolling thunder! 

He heard shirabu yell a confused and annoyed “huh??!!!?” And it made his grin even bigger. 

Hinata didn’t look back and ran again, only to collide with Leon, who grabbed him with ease. 

“Let me go!!” Hinata whined as the dark skinned enemy held him tighter. 

At the same time hinata kicked the bigger male in the shins, something - no, someone - ran into them. 

“BIIIIIIIGGGGG THUNDER!!!” a familiar voice yelled.

Taking advantage of the confusion, hinata rolled to the ground, and using his hands for support, he kicked his feet as hard he could at Leon’s head, knocking him out. 

“Nishiya!” Hinata grinned as he untangled himself from the limp limbs of Leon. 

Nishinoya grinned back at the nickname.  
“Come on shoyo, let’s get out of here,” he said, glancing at semi and shirabu running towards them. 

Together they ran, matching each other foot for foot. Somehow they managed to get to the entrance, but semi was still hot on their trail. Tsukishima was already there, opening the door. The blonde frowned when he realized the group were still being followed. They ran a few blocks down, and hid behind a large rusty car for cover. 

“Hinata are you ready?” Tsukishima asked uncertainly. 

“Of course I am,” the shorter replied. “You don’t believe in me?” 

“No I don’t,” tsukishima retorted as he sat down to catch his breath. 

Nishinoya handed hinata the now empty medical bag that he had managed to steal.  
“Take this chance ball, and be the greatest decoy! I’m leaving it all to you, shoyo!” 

Hinata nodded, the determination shining in his eyes. 

Tsukishima quickly calculated the best escape route.  
“Hinata, I want you to run to the north. When you reach dateko’s iron wall, turn right. If you keep going straight from there, you should reach johenzi’s old territory. Get past the dumpster, and you’ll be right next to the east of our lake. You can make your way from there, right?” 

Hinata looked at him dumbfounded. 

“Idiot,” tsukishima hissed. 

Hinata tilted his head. “North. Iron wall. Turn right. Pass dumpster, and our lake will be there,” he listed simply. 

Tsukishima nodded, and opened his mouth to say more, but nishinoya stopped him. 

“Find them!” Tendo’s voice rang dangerously close by. “Find all three of them, I’m going to crush their heads!” He growled. 

“Shoyo, go,”nishinoya whispered. 

Hinata nodded and gave them one last look, before he bolted away from the car. 

They heard their decoy run off, followed with shouts and gunshots. Tsukishima had unconsciously grabbed nishinoya’s wrist, clenching until his knuckles were white. The older didn’t mind, and instead watched the enemy chase hinata until he couldn’t see them anymore. And eventually the shouts and guns grew faint. 

“Now!” Nishinoya hissed. Tsukishima nodded and they got up. 

“Boo!”

Nishinoya jumped at the scare, right into tendo’s gun pointed at his head. The red hair was grinning, squated on top of the car, right Above them. 

“Tsk, I thought you were smarter than that,” tendo jeered. He pressed the gun even closer to nishinoya’s head, cocking it, about to pull off the trigger. “Any last words?” 

Nishinoya never replied. Tsukishima had pulled out small daggers faster than he had seen the blonde ever had, and were thrown even faster.  
Both of them hit their mark, although one was slightly off. One at tendo’s face, nearly piercing his left eye, but didn’t, and the other at the hand holding the gun. 

Tendo screamed in agony but still managed to pull the trigger. Nishinoya was fast enough, and he ducked just in time as the bullet whizzed past.  
Tsukishima threw his last dagger at the hand as it tried to pull the trigger again. At the same time nishinoya rolled under and grabbed the neck, strangling the red hair boy. The second bullet went up in the sky at angle, as the arms fell limp. 

“Nice kill,” tsukishima said bitterly. 

“He’s not dead,” nishinoya grunted. “Just knocked out.” He took the gun out of the bloody hands and stuffed it in the bag.

Tsukishima didn’t comment. He knew as much as the other knew that neither of them had the heart to kill. 

“Let’s go,” the shorter muttered, slinging the bag with the stolen supplies over his shoulder. 

They walked as fast as they could towards the forest that once belonged to fukurodani, both deep in thought. 

“Do you think shoyo will be fine?” Nishinoya asked, breaking their silence as they reached the border. 

“He’s a decoy for a reason. He’ll be fine,” tsukishima said back, looking at the trees he had spent his childhood with. 

“So you do care,” nishinoya laughed as he went in the forest. 

Tsukishima lowered his head, looking at the ground, where the visible white marker was made so many years ago. 

“I don’t care. I just don’t want to be massacred like johezenji and fukurodani,” he replied darkly as he stepped over the white mark. 

Nishinoya stopped in his tracks, turning back to look at the taller but younger boy. There was no trace of the smiling boy that he grew up with, just grown up boy who had suffered this fucked up world.

“Well then, mr. I don’t care. Thank you for saving my life today, as well as Yachi’s”  
He didn’t wait for an answer as he still had to deliver the much needed supplies for the young girl in the group. Nishinoya walked with sadness as he slowly made his way through the trees that were once his friends’ home. 

Somewhere back in shiwatoriwaza’s territory, hinata was struggling to loose the people who were chasing him. Multiple times bullets passed him, one even grazing his lower cheek when he had glanced back. The blood was now dry, but it still tasted horrible as he licked his lips while running. Hinata was slowly loosing stamina and speed, but he finally saw the Great Wall infront of him.it was higher than 7 feet (2 meters) high. 

Tsukishima told him to turn right, but goshiki was a few feet away, and not far behind was shirabu. If he turned right, hinata couldn’t outrun them. They would catch him before he even made it to the dumpster. 

Hinata jolted out of his thoughts when he felt a gush of impact from a bullet whizzing past, barely missing his left arm. In the spur of the moment, hinata decided to jump over the Great Wall. 

As his feet lifted off the ground, he could only imagine the looks of goshiki and shinabu’s faces as he touched the top of the wall easily. Hinata lifted himself up midair, his hands pushing the cold iron wall, And he landed on his feet as he fell. The view of the wall was replace with a view of a garden like forest. 

Hinata turned around to see the wall behind him. He did it. He managed to get pass the famous dateko iron wall. But adrenaline left him and hinata slumped to the ground realizing yes, he had managed to jump over the iron wall, but he was now in dateko’s territory that was sealed off from the rest of their world for the past 5 year. And speak of the devil, hinata looked up to only see the scary, piercing gaze of aone takanobu. 

Somewhere in a building in the abandoned city 

Kuroo wanted to die. He wanted to die for the past year. He was tortured and raped. His humanity was almost gone. He wanted to die. But he didn’t. He kept every breath breathing, even though it hurt to even breathe. 

Kuroo couldn’t die, not when kenma was curled up next to him, barely breathing on his own.  
He couldn’t die, not when he watched lev being raped every day, in front of his eyes.  
He couldn’t die, not when he heard Akashi quietly sob every night.  
He couldn’t die, not when he saw bokuto smile weakly every morning, followed by a faint, “hey, hey, hey”  
He couldn’t die when yaku and Kai and the rest of his family were waiting for him. 

And so when he saw the dead body of Saruki that day, when he saw bokuto and Akashi mourn their family member’S death, kuroo decided that he had enough.

It was Akashi’s day to be tortured. The younger boy didn’t even protest anymore, nor did he cry. His eyes were lifeless. Him looking like that hurt Kuroo and bokuto’s heart more than any physical torture they had suffered. 

The short white Haired male grabbed Akashi and was dragging him out of the large cage when he was stopped.  
“Hoshi, we have visitors today,” a voice rasped.  
“Hmm” the white haired male frowned.  
He threw akashi’a nearly limp body back at them, and locked the cage.  
“Let’s go then,” he said, his eyes glaring back at Kuroo. 

When the two figures left, Kuroo got up. He slipped his thin arm in between the bars, and he grabbed the lock. He tried to pull it off as hard as as he could. In the corner, lev and konoha stirred, but neither had the power to get up, let alone speak. Next to them, kenma was unresponsive, his body barely moving up and down to breathe.  
Kuroo could feel his fingers breaking but he still held on and pulled. 

“Kuroo san, what are you doing?” Akashi asked weakly as he stared at him. Even after all these years, the boy still called him Kuroo san. 

“I’m getting you the fuck out of here” kuroo replied. 

And despite the situation, despite that he couldn’t feel his fingers or his hand anymore, Kuroo grinned when he heard bokuto softly say,” oya, oya, oya....”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oya oya oya, what do u think of the first official chapter? 
> 
> Tell me in the comments!!  
> Thanks for the kudos!


	4. A crow, a cat, and an owl

Aone Takanobu was not a violent man. He tried to keep peace at all times.   
So when he saw hinata shoyo on the ground, he was more shocked than angry.   
The small crow stared back at him with anxious eyes, recognizing him.   
Aone didn’t say anything, nor did hinata. It wasn’t either of them who broke the silence. 

“Where are there so many gunshots today?” Kogane’s voice floated close by. 

Aone turned to hinata,and grabbed him, hoisting him up his shoulder. The younger boy trembled in fear,but aone didn’t made any sudden movements. He set hinata down on a lower tree branch, and put one finger on his mouth to silence the boy. Hinata nodded, his eyes wide. 

Aone walked up to them just as kogane and futakuchi turned the corner from their building.

“Aone, what are you doing here?” Futakuchi asked.

“ a walk..” Aone stared down at the two. 

“Okay then.” Futakuchi shrugged. He was used to the larger boy’s one word responses. 

“Did you hear?” Kogane gossiped. “One of karasuno’s females is sick! The younger one!” 

Aone slightly tilted his head at the tree. The corner of his eyes caught the orange hair flashing deeper into the leaves. 

“But that doesn’t explain why there were so many gunshots today, that’s more important,” Futakuchi scowled. “Why is shiratoriwaza acting up?” 

“Seijoh?” Kogane asked, tilting his head. 

“No it can’t be. Aobajoshi isnt this close to us, their base is more closer to karasuno’s base than ours.” Futakuchi’s scowl turned into a frown. 

“Aone, what do you think?” He asked looking up. 

Aone just looked down at them with a poker face. 

Futakuchi rolled his eyes. He wasn’t expecting an answer from him anyways. 

Another gunshot rang in the distance, followed by another. 

Futakuchi and Kogane looked at each other, but neither of them spoke. 

“There you are!!” A female voice shouted.   
Mai ran up to them. 

“Kamasaki is looking for you, Futakuchi!” 

Futakuchi’s frowned even deeper in annoyance. Aone didn’t think that was possible. 

“What does the asshole want with me,” he muttered as turned to go inside. 

“ not so fast!” Mai growled as she caught Kogane sneaking off. “You’re on kitchen duty today!” 

She nodded to Aone as she dragged a complaining Kogane inside. 

Aone waited until all three of them were inside, and then he turned to the tree. 

He grabbed the foot that was trying to hide, and once again hoisted hinata over his shoulders. The orange hair boy again trembled anxiously, but didn’t resist. 

Aone walked towards the wall and, set the boy down on top of the wall.   
He pointed to his left.   
“Dumpster. Karasuno.” He said simply. 

Standing up to his full height, Hinata looked down at Aone. The small boy was taller than him as was on the wall. 

Hinata then bowed.  
“Thank you for hiding me today.”

Aone bowed in return, out of respect. When he got up, the boy was still bowing. 

“Also thank you for the apple that day.” Hinata said genuinely. The boy rose to see Aone’s surprised face. He turned to go, but the Aone voice made him look back. 

“You’re welcome, little crow,” Aone said. 

It was Hinata turn to look surprised. Aone was famous for not speaking much words. Then he smiled. The larger boy smiled back,just for a moment.   
Hinata nodded and turned to go again. 

Aone stared at him until he was a speck on their Great Wall.   
He then grunted and asked curiously,” you’re not gonna punish me sir?” 

“Aone I told you to drop honorifics long time ago,” moniwa said as he walked up to him.   
“And no im not,” he replied back as the speck disappeared.   
“The boy didn’t mean any harm. He hasn’t grown much since I last saw him though,” moniwa chuckled. 

Aone gave a small grunt in response. 

His captain was too softhearted, too kind.   
He was not ambitious like ushijima and Oikawa, nor did he make many enemies.   
He would avoid conflict, if he could. 

And that’s what cause them their ultimate downfall a few days later. 

By the time hinata had reached the dumpster, the sky was pink and orange,as the sun had begun to set. He had only been to the dumpster twice, now being his third time, his first time alone. He walked amongst the large discarded items scattered around, walking towards the forest. He heard a faint gunshot in the distance, and he frowned. He prayed that it wasn’t nishinoya, or tsukishima. He increased his pace as his made his way through.

Then he saw something that caught his eye. A small but lanky cat, that opened its mouth lazily.  
The cat was light grey, and had striking green eyes. Hinata walked up to it, and the cat purred when he pet it. It rubbed its head affectionately towards hinatas hand, despite only just meeting him. 

Hinata giggled as the cat purred happily.   
“I’m going to name you Little Lev,” he declared as he hugged it close to his chest.  
“You remind me of him.” 

The cat only meowed in answer. 

Just as hinata was going for another round of pets, someone jumped on him from behind. 

“BOO!” The voice yelled. 

Hinata jumped from shock, and Little Lev leaped out of his arms and disappeared deep into the heaps of useless items. 

“Little Lev!” Hinata cried in despair.   
He turned around, frowning at a grinning Tanaka and a giggling yamaguchi. 

“Come on, number one shorty!” The older ruffled his orange hair. “Suga and asahi are cooking dinner today!” 

“Don’t call me that,” hinata whined as he got up to walk. “I grew taller!” 

“Sure,” yamaguchi giggled. “Let’s get going I’m starving!” 

“Maybe I should cook that cat,” Tanaka said as they started to walk towards the forest. 

“DONT YOU DARE,” hinata yelled. “Don’t hurt Little Lev!!” 

“Come to think of it, it does look a lot like Lev. I imagine Lev like that if he was a cat,” yamaguchi commented.

Suddenly all three grew quiet as they remembered their childhood friend. 

They walked in awkward silence for a while, the sounds of the forest overwhelming. 

“Err…” Tanaka began. He hated being silent. 

“Did nishinoya and tsukishima make it back alright?” Hinata asked as they began to reach the lake view. “Is yachi gonna be okay?” 

“Yeah they came in one piece alright,” Tanaka said. 

“Tsukki’s upset that he to use his favorite daggers thou,” yamaguchi commented. 

Hinata didn’t comment that they didn’t say anything about yachi. But As long as they were okay, he was happy. He looked at the lake ahead.

“Wow,” he breathed. 

“Woah,” yamaguchi and Tanaka echoed back. 

The sky was at twilight, with the last of the sunset turning into a deep mix of purple and blue, with still faints of red in between. The stars started to shine dimly, one by one, and the lake reflected the sky, with small gentle ripples breaking reflection calmly. 

The three of them stared in awe, not wanting to speak. There wasn’t much peaceful moments like this in the horrible world they lived in, and they wanted to savor the moment. 

And they did, until hinata and yamaguchi’s stomach growled, breaking the silence. 

Tanaka laughed.  
“Come on kids let’s -“ 

“We re not kids!!!” Hinata and yamaguchi yelled in unison. 

Tanaka smirked.  
“Race ya to the base then,” he yelled as he ran. 

“That’s not far you got a head start!!” Yamaguchi followed. 

Hinata smiled. He wished his life was easylike this, easy like his childhood.

He shrugged the sentimental thoughts off and he smiled as he ran to catch up, the wind letting his hair run free. 

The reflection of the lake captured the moment before gently rippling again, and the sounds of their laughter echoed throughout the forest. 

Akashi stared at the 2 leaders infront of him. He didn’t know if he should call them idiots.  
Kuroo’s hands and fingers were bloody and bent in a strange way, and bokuto’s was bruised in multiple colors reflecting in the dim light they had. 

But somehow, they managed to break the lock. The lock that kept them in this cage for 2 years. 

Lev watched them with his green eyes, staring at them. He couldn’t speak, his throat was raw from.. from the shit they had made him do. Konoha leaned on him, eyes closed as if sleeping, as if sleep could make the nightmare they were living feel better.   
But Akashi knew his family member was awake.   
Konoha’s hands were softly petting kenma’s hair, playing with the blonde strands, and he sometimes stirred when lev did. 

They were all worried for the small boy on the ground. According to lev, it’s been 4 full days since kenma last opened his eyes. Not that they knew when it was day or night in the dark room, but they believed the silver haired boy whenever he counted. Bokuto and Kuroo had to forcefully open the kenma’s mouth and pour the water they got inside to make sure he was atleast hydrated.  
But more shockingly it was the hair color change that made them anxious. 

Both bokuto and kenma faced changes in their hair. the older’s dirty white hair slowly growing black roots. It didn’t grow for nearly for the 2 years that he was inside in this cage, but only recently growing black, contrasting with what was once a pearly white. Bokuto was never the same. He didn’t say anything, but they all could feel the change in his once easy going personality.   
Similarly, kenma started to grow black hair after he came in tortured one day. The black started to grow up to his eyes, his once blonde locks tangled. The usually quiet boy didn’t say anything that day, but they all heard him wailing and crying uncontrollably, and the mummers that bokuto and kuroo gave him to try to calm him down didn’t do much. Both kenma and bokuto were never the same, and they didn’t want kenma to change, but that didn’t matter when they couldn’t even wake him.

Thinking of not being able to wake kenma made Akashi think of saruki. Saruki’s dead body was in the farthest corner of the large cage, and all of them didn’t dare look anymore. When nekoma’s shibayama died, their captors let his body almost rot until they had removed it. Akashi couldn’t look at him anymore, he didn’t want to. He had already cried his tears earlier, and just even one look at his family member would break him even more than he already was.

Because, Akashi and Bokuto’s last two family, Komi and wahiro , hadn’t came back for a really long time. Much much Longer than kenma’s unconsciousness. According to Lev, almost 3 months. Even just the thought of them… Akashi could feel the tears to starting to form.

“Akashi…” 

“Mm?” He replied, wiping his tears with his rough hand.

“Akashi…” bokutos voice made him stand up. His leader was serious.  
“I want you to take kenma and run. Kuroo said that we are in shiratoriwaza’s territory. The closest way to get to karasuno is to head towards johzenji’s old dumpster. There, our lake we shared with the crows will be there. If they haven’t changed their old hideout, it shouldn’t be far from there.”

It took a few seconds for Akashi to process what his leader was saying. And he denied it. 

“No! I’m not leaving you!” Akashi declared, his earlier tears all but gone. His hands trembled as he pointed at the pitiful group of 3, who stared at him.  
“I’m not leaving you or konoha or lev or kuroo san here!” 

“Akashi….” it was kuroo who spoke this time.   
“Please…. please take kenma and run… please.. save kenma...” 

Akashi never heard the leader sound so broken. He stared at the older’s now broken fingers, not able to meet his eyes.  
“No…” he denied weakly. “I don’t want to leave you…”

“Keiji….” 

Akashi closed his eyes as bokuto used his full name. “No… I don’t … I’m not ..” he said weakly. 

He opened his eyes to see kuroo and bokuto opening the cage.   
Akashi opened his mouth to say no once more, but a hand grabbed his wrist. He turned around to see lev smiling at him weakly.

The silver head boy opened his hand to Akashi, who could only choke at what he saw. 

It was torn and dirty with dried blood and dirt, and multiple strands were missing and tangled, but it was unmistakable. 

Their friendship bracelet.   
Lev still had the green bracelet with him the whole time. 

“Take this to hinata and tsukki,” the boy begged Akashi, placing it in his hands, folding the fingers to make a fist. 

Akashi couldn’t hold it in. He started crying, tears streaming as he remembered the memories that were associated with the bracelet. Of His own, back at the third gym. 

“Come with me…” he cried as he clenched his fist holding the bracelet tight.   
“Lev, please, we have to go together. We have to see tsukishima and hinata together,” he rasped, his emotions taking over. 

The younger boy shook his head, his silvery hair slightly covering his sad green eyes. He wiped the tears on akashi’s face. His hands felt cold, but gentle.   
Next to him, konoha stared fondly at Akashi. He said something but Akashi couldn’t hear. 

Turning to the noise, his eyes widened in fear, realizing that there were silhouettes at the door.   
They were back. They were going to torture him. They were going to rape him. They were going to punish him for breaking the lock, for trying to escape. They already reached kuroo, slamming him to the ground. 

Akashi felt weight on his back, and kenma’s blonde hair spilled on his shoulders. The small boy’s limp body was slipping and Akashi grabbed him and hoisted him up, staring into konoha’s eyes. Lev’s cold hands touched him, tying what was left of the green bracelet on his wrist.   
“Go,” konoha softly said. Lev nodded, wiping more tears that were spilling on Akashi’s face.  
“No..” Akashi whispered.   
He could hear kuroo and bokuto fighting, and kuroo’s scream of pain overpowered everything else.   
Then he felt it. He felt being stabbed, felt pain on his leg. He saw Blood. There was blood on the ground. 

“Akashi!!!” Bokuto screamed. 

Lev and konoha, who never fought back, who never resisted, grabbed the man who had tried to stab Akashi. Both of them who had no energy before struggled against the man, opening a way for Akashi. 

Akashi picked up one foot, and another, ignoring the burning pain. Kenma’s light body bounced on his back. He reached bokuto and kuroo, who were fighting a much bigger man than the one who had stabbed him. 

Kuroo screamed in pain as the man grabbed his hands. Bokuto retaliated, biting into the man’s arm. 

“Go, Akashi!!” Kuroo screamed. 

It all happened in a blur. The last thing Akashi saw was konoha’s body going limp, lev fighting back, and bokuto’s furious face as he attacked the man who tried to grab him. 

Akashi ignored the pain on his leg, and ran. He ran to the door, leaving his family behind.   
He dragged himself to the hallway, with kenma’s limp body on his back. The harsh lights blinded him, so Akashi closed his eyes as he ran. He couldn’t hear the screaming voices of his family anymore, but there was no end to the corridor when he opened his eyes again. Akashi didn’t even know where he was going, or how to get out. 

He walked for awhile, the pain in his leg getting worse. But that wasn’t what worried him. It was the blood. It was the blood trailing behind him, making the way he had escaped visible.

He stopped, gently placing kenma against the wall. The small boy was still breathing, but unresponsive. Sitting down, next to him, Akashi took off his shirt. The stupid shirt that he wore for 2 fuking years. He tied it on the deep gash on his lower leg. It slightly bleeded through, but it was enough to stop it from making a mess. 

Akashi felt lightheaded, but he couldn’t faint. Not here, not now. Taking a breath, he fiddled with lev’s green bracelet, tightening the tangled strands, not wanting it to come off. 

Hinata’s excited voice echoed in his head, a faint but ever so fresh memory. “Look at these bracelets, Lev!!! 6 of ‘emm one for each of us!!”   
Akashi felt his mouth turn into a smile as he weakly mummered what kuroo san had said in response to the orange haired boy.  
“Oya oya oya…” 

Akashi felt his eyes slowly closing. 

Oya Oya Oya… kuroo and bokuto’s favorite phrase.

The only thing that topped that phrase was bokuto’s, “Hey, Hey ,hey !” 

At the thought of bokuto, akashi’s eyes fluttered open. He had to follow his leader’s last orders. He had to escape.   
He got himself up again, staggering.   
Akashi barely had the strength to pull kenma up onto his bare back, but he managed. He hoisted the boy up, making sure that the nekoma was in a comfortable position. Not that the boy would wake up anytime soon...

He started walking slowly, all the adrenaline from before gone. Akashi realized that there was a door at the end of the long hallway he had walked, and he limped towards it, putting pressure on his better leg. 

The sun… it blinded Akashi. It felt nice, but it was harsh. Akashi felt dizzy. The sun was too much for his eyes that had grown to the dark room for 2 years. He heard gunshots and screaming, and he couldn’t bare it any longer. Akashi dragged himself to the side of the building, into an ally, to the shadows. He sat down on the concrete ground and closed his burning eyes. In the faint distant eyes he heard shouting, but Akashi couldn’t make out the words. 

It was hot. Was the sun always this hot? Akashi thought, as he heard another gunshot in the distance. He did his best to not fall alseep. Because Akashi knew that if he did, he would never wake up like kenma. 

Kenma. 

Akashi felt the boy on his back, but something was wrong. The boy felt hot. The heat wasn’t from the sun, it was from kenma’s body.   
Forcing to open his eyes, Akashi raised his hand on the smaller boy’s forehead, pushing away the streaks of black and blonde hair. 

Shit.   
Kenma has a fever, Akashi could tell atleast this much.   
He had to get to karasuno as fast as he could. They could - no, they would, help them. 

Akashi got up, pulling kenma with him. He started limp out of the alley, when he heard voices nearby. 

“Damn it, I can’t believe hinata shoyo managed to jump over great iron wall!” 

Hinata? Hinata was close by? Akashi closed his eyes, holding his breath. 

“I was sure he would turn right… isn’t that where the dumpster next to their territory is?” 

Akashi couldn’t believe his luck, but he didn’t dare make a sound. 

“Ughh tendo and ushijima are gonna be so mad at us… aren’t you the vice captain? Why can’t you - oh shit...”

“Tendo!!!” 

The frantic footsteps slowly went away.

Akashi finally let the breath he was holding out.   
Just to make sure, he waited for a few more minutes before slowly making his way to the sun again.   
He grabbed kenma’s legs even tighter, and he limped in the direction of iron wall in the distance.   
He kept his eyes to ground as much as he could, only glancing slightly up to make sure the iron wall was in his sight. 

Akashi felt stupid, when he felt the bullet pass him.   
“There they are!! The same voices he had heard shouted in the distance.

Then He felt pain. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. One bullet almost hit the same leg that was stabbed. Instead the shirt tying the wound started turn dark red, repopening the large gash.Blood splashed everywhere on the ground.

The other, probably aimed for his bare back, grazed past kenma’s foot, leaving another trace of blood on Akashi. 

Akashi didn’t hear them chasing him. Those were probably the last bullets they had, considering there were many gunshots earlier before him. He was already too far ahead for them to chase him. What luck. The last bullets could have hit directly at kenma and Akashi, but they only grazed past, leaving large cuts rather than a huge wound. 

Akashi saw the iron wall infront of him.   
It’s been 3 full years since he saw dateko’s wall, when it was first started to be built with leftover iron by the techies.   
It was 7 feet high now, towering above him. 

Turn right, turn right. 

Akashi could feeling his strength disappearing, the pain overwhelming him. His leg was covered in blood and pain, dragging him down. Leaning on the cold iron wall for support, he dragged one foot over and over, whiling holding onto kenma’s burning body, one hand on the gun wound on his foot to help stop bleeding. 

He could see abit clearly now, as the sun had begun to set, but his eyes drooped low, wanting to close. His eye lids felt heavy, heavier than kenma’s body. The now dark sky didn’t help either. Finally, after so many steps, Akashi saw it, the shadows looming as the last of the sun started to disappear. 

The johzenji’s dumpster, where the first massacre began. The dumpster was filled with junk that was discarded by the remaining humans, deemed useless for survival. Junk that humans had once used in their daily lives before the zombie outbreak. Before Akashi was ever born. After the zombies were all dead, a small group of humans who called themselves johzenji made their home here, living peacefully with dateko, karasuno, and fukurodani.

But they tried to resist shiratoriwaza’s power, ignoring their claims on johzenji’s land. In return, shiratoriwaza destroyed them. They killed all of them in one day, in one hour. No survivors at all, although 2 bodies were missing from the dead pile. In response, dateko shut off all their communications with the rest of the world, and built a wall around their land. For some reason, shiratoriwaza let them.  
Dateko never had enemies, and shiratoriwaza was more interested in the dumpster at that time.   
But what ever interest there was, it was all gone now. 

Now no one claimed the dumpster, although most people considered it karasuno’s territory as it has went onto their forest, as well as having dateko’s iron wall stopping at the entrance. 

Akashi couldn’t deal with the pain anymore. He limped towards the dumpster and he fell down, the weight of kenma on his bare back. He felt dirt and stones scraping him as he pulled himself closer and closer to the heart of the dumpster. A sofa with blood splattered over it. Where the bloody bodies of johzenji’s people were thrown when they were killed. The bodies are long gone now, buried by karasuno after shiratoriwaza had left that day. 

Akashi groaned as he dragged his body face down towards the sofa. His shirt that had tied the leg wound was long gone, and the gash only opened even more. This whole time, kenma’s unresponsive body was draped on his back, burning even more than it had earlier.The last thing his eyes focused on was lev’s green bracelet on his wrist. Curling his body protectively around kenma, Akashi finally closed his eyes, and finally let the pain take over. 

I’m sorry, bokuto.   
I’m sorry, kuroo san.   
I’m sorry Lev. 

Akashi has failed them. That’s all he thought of, as he blacked out into nothingness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this longer chapter! 
> 
> I’m not good with angst so I’m sorry if it sounded repetitive! 
> 
> Thank you for the kudos and comments


	5. A family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the most fluff you’ll probably get from the whole fic. Enjoy.

Sugawara couldn’t sleep. It was just one of those nights, when sleep wasn’t there for him. The tension of the shiratoriwaza heist was still in the air, long after everyone had gone to their rooms after dinner. 

Suga hovered over hinata for the rest of the evening, making sure the boy had put on a fresh bandage on his cheek where the gun had grazed his skin before he went to sleep. 

Tsukishima had managed to advoid him at all costs, knowing that suga would baby and pester him. 

Nishinoya was…. fine, he was just as Nishinoya as the boy could be. Especially when he had threw berries at Tanaka during dinner, causing a bit of a food fight with berries between them till daichi hit them in the head, scolding them for wasting food. 

It was quiet at the base now, everyone most likely sleeping as it was way past midnight. Suga looked at his window, where the full moon shined brightly at the sky, and stars twinkling beside it. The lake in the distance was calm and the trees gently swayed with the path of the wind. It was a calm midsummer night, and suga felt a feeling of calmness. It wasn’t sleep, but it was better than nothing. 

Knowing that he wouldnt sleep for awhile, suga untangled himself from Daichi’s arms and got out of bed, walking towards the hallway. Daichi and suga slept openly in one of the two large living rooms, in case they had to wake up in any situation to take control. They were the oldest after all. 

He passed the empty hallways of the nursing home they had called home, stopping at each room, making sure everyone was alsleep. The building itself had 4 floors, but the family mainly used the first 2, the upper floors mainly reserved for storage as well as for lookout. 

He softly closed ennosita’s door, where the younger boy was snoring softly on his large bed he once shared with two others. Suga ignored the thoughts of loneliness ennosita probably faced for the past year, walking towards tsukishima and yamaguchi’s room. 

He opened their door, hearing yamaguchi’s rather loud snores even before he saw him. Suga turned to go, but he noticed that tsukishima was still awake, sitting at the desk both of them shared. 

In the moonlight suga saw his face. The blonde looked upset, with something in his hands. He didn’t say anything as suga went up to him, hugging him. It was abit awkward, as the boy had now grown even taller than suga, but he still snuggled into the older boy, crying softly. 

Suga didn’t say anything, he just patted the younger’s blonde hair until he calmed down. 

“Will yachi be okay?” Tsukishima asked, his head still on suga’s chest. 

“We’ll see tomorrow,” suga whispered back. “Lets get some sleep” 

“ I miss everyone,” tsukishima mummered , his eyes closed shut. 

Suga knew that by everyone, tsukishima didn’t just mean karasuno. He meant nekoma and fukurodani as well. After all, in the boy’s hand was his yellow friendship bracelet that he was given by them. suga had never seen tsukishima as happy as he was that day.   
He felt tears forming in his eyes too. 

“Me too,” suga said as he pulled the younger’s body closer. He rested his chin on tsukishima’s head, just like he did when the boy was younger.   
“ I miss them too” he said as he let his own tears fall. 

After awhile Tsukishima shifted slightly, and suga looked down at him. The boy wiped the rest of his tears away, and he moved to get up.   
Suga let go of him, and let him have his space.   
Tsukkishima put the bracelet back in a small box, where suga knew the boy had kept his favorite things.   
“Suga?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Can you tuck me in?” 

Suga stared at the 15 year old boy who had walked towards the bed. It was rare to see the usually sneering boy so vulnerable, but he was still a kid, and will always be to suga, no matter how much they grew older. 

“Tsukki?” Yamaguchi yawned sleepily. 

“Shut up, yamaguchi,” tsukishima muttered as he got into bed. 

Suga smiled. He pulled the blanket up as tsukishima laid down. He petted both of their heads. 

“Good night tsukishima, good night yamaguchi.” 

Neither of them responded, both of them falling asleep again. 

Suga stared at both of them, wishing that he could protect both of them. He got up to go, and he heard tsukishima call out softly. 

“Good night, Suga Momma,” the boy sleepily said, saying the nickname that the younger kids often called him.

Suga petted the boy’s hair one more time, before tearing himself away from the bed.   
“Good night tsukki,” he said as he closed the door. 

Suga was still not tired, nor did sleep come to him. He sighed, and he walked to Nishinoya and tanaka’s room next. 

He opened their door to see not 2 bodies, but 4 bodies all sprawled out on the ground, not even on the bed.   
Asahi and Tanaka snored loudly, and Nishinoya was rolled over, face down. Squished next to Nishinoya and Tanaka, hinata’s small body moved up and down, in rhythm with everyone else. 

On the bed, Suga saw a body that probably belonged to Kageyama move slightly, relaxing.   
He knew that Kageyama often had nightmares, so he wasn’t surprised that the boy was in the room with the others. 

Content with his so called children sleeping peacefully, Suga closed yet another door. 

He had reached the end of the hallway, but he found himself walking down the stairs.   
He turned left, and walked past Kageyama and hinata’s room.   
There was one bedroom left, and he knocked softly.   
It wasn’t just a bedroom, it was their makeshift hospital as it was the biggest room in their building. 

He knocked again. No answer.   
Suga opened the door even with no response.  
Kiyoko’s bed was empty, the blankets folded neatly.   
The other beds were empty as well. 

Suga frowned, but he turned to yachi instead. The young girl’s breathing was much better than it was this morning. 

Suga lifted his hand to touch yachi’s forehead, and he sighed in relief. The fever that the girl had for a whole week was gone. The medicine and supplies that hinata ,tsukkishima and Nishinoya had stole from the enemy group worked. 

He stayed at her bed for awhile, his hands running through the girl’s blond hair. Sleep still didn't come to him, but he got up to leave anyways. 

As he walked up the stairs he frowned again, realizing that he hadn’t seen kiyoko at all since dinner. He reached the top of the stairs, and suga finally saw her, coming out of Nishinoya and Tanaka’s room, closing the door. 

Suga’s frown turned into a soft smile. She did what suga was doing the whole night, checking up on all the younger boys.  
Everyone said that suga was the mother of the family, but suga knew that kiyoko was a motherly figure to them just as much as he was. 

“Can’t sleep?” Suga said softly. 

Kiyoko nodded. “I had a nightmare.” 

“Sleep with me and daichi tonight.”   
Suga had said it without much thought, but he regretted it as soon as he said it. 

He felt his face go red at the look she gave him.   
“I mean - “   
What he had meant was she could sleep next to them like she had when they were younger, NOT like - 

Suga’s face turned even redder at the thought. 

“I didn’t -“ 

At this point he had no words to describe what he was thinking because if she knew what he was thinking - 

Kiyoko just laughed at him, but suga could tell something was off. Her hands were shaking. It must have been a really bad nightmare.  
She started to walk to the living room, turning around to see if he was coming. 

“I didn’t mean it like that,” suga finally apologized as he walked next to her. 

“I know,” kiyoko hummed as they passed ennosita’s room.   
Suga searched her face for answers. Her eyes were red, but that was about it. 

She reached the bed first, and sat down.   
“Suga?” Daichi asked sleepily, his eyes still closed.

“Dai dai,” kiyoko mummered. 

“Kiyoko?” Daichi’s voice was alert now, and he opened his eyes. “What are you doing here?” 

Kiyoko laid down next to him, and suga on her other side. 

“I had a nightmare,” she said in a small voice, trembling.   
She grabbed the blankets with her hand, and suga held her hand to calm her down.

“The zombies ate you and suga and Tanaka. Hinata and noya were already dead and and and I couldn’t find tsukki and ‘guchi, and and narita and kinnosita were there they blamed me for letting them die and and-“ 

“Shh… it’s okay, ” suga said softly, hugging her.

Daichi leaned closer, and put her head on his chest, and suga’s head was already next to her shoulder. 

She shuddered in between them. 

“It’s okay,” Daichi breathed. “We’re all here” 

Kiyoko hiccuped in response. 

Suga rubbed her back in gentle circles, mummering soft comforting words till she relaxed, breathing evenly with Daichi. 

“Dai Dai,” she said softly. 

“Hmm?” the boy opened his eyes at the old nickname. 

“I don’t want to die,” kiyoko said, burying her face on his chest. 

“We won’t let you,” suga breathed, his hands running gently through her dark hair.

“But I don’t want to die alone,” she whispered. 

“You won’t,” Daichi assured her.   
“We won’t ever leave you alone. We’ll be together forever, and if we die - when we die, we’ll die together.” 

“Daichi-,” suga said uncertainly. 

Kiyoko’s voice stopped him. 

“Promise?” 

“I promise,” Daichi whispered, his chin on top of her head.

Suga gave no response, leaning his head next to Daichi, his arms wrapped around kiyoko’s body and Daichi’s arms. 

The moonlight shone through the window, and suga saw Daichi’s face.  
He stared into Daichi’s beautiful eyes, full of love, not just for him, and not just for kiyoko, but for all of them.   
Suga only hoped that his eyes said the same. 

At some point Daichi’s eyes closed as he fell asleep again, with kiyoko’s head still buried on his chest. 

Suga felt kiyoko’s body relax, her chest moving up and down gently, her breathing softly matching his.   
He wasn’t sure if she was asleep yet, but He let go of her, and he laid down on his back, his right hand still holding onto her hand. He stared at the ceiling, Daichi’s and kiyoko’s words echoing in his head. 

I don’t want to die alone.   
We’ll be together forever.   
When we die, we’ll die together. 

Suga closed his eyes trying to remember when he first met Daichi, asahi, and kiyoko, and he realized that he didn’t remember at all. He didn’t know if he was dreaming or just remembering his memories, but the picture of Daichi and kiyoko and asahi and him sleeping together came to his mind. But they weren’t sleeping. 

They were about 10 years old, before they had met the other karasuno members. Kiyoko was crying, her head on Daichi’s shoulders. Younger suga was next to her, but he was comforting asahi next to him. The brown haired boy was crying even louder than kiyoko. 

What were they running from? Suga wondered, trying to remember. 

It appeared in the imaginary picture. A zombie, it’s face all torn and bloody, walking towards them. It’s arms bent in an unnatural way, reaching for them.

By now, younger suga was crying too, and Daichi had got up infront of them, with his arms stretched wide in a vain attempt to protect them. 

A gunshot rang. It was only in his head, but it sounded so real. 

Suga flinched on the bed, and he felt the real kiyoko next to him shift gently. 

The picture still formed in his head.

The zombie body slumped to the ground and a man with blonde hair appeared. 

Ukai. 

Younger suga looked up to see the older man’s face, but then the memory suddenly ended there, without being able to see ukai’s face. 

Suga opened his eyes, looking at the ceiling again. Moonlight shone through the window, illuminating shadows in the room. He turned his head to see Daichi and kiyoko curled up, their bodies moving up and down in the rhythm of sleep. 

Suga’s hand gently brushed hair out of kiyoko’s face, and he traced his fingers around her face, stopping at the mole on her chin. 

He let his arm drop, and held her hand again.

He closed his eyes again, reminding himself that there were no more zombies left in the world to hurt his family.

When we die, we’ll die together. 

I won’t leave you guys like ukai left us,   
Suga thought as sleep that he was finally waiting for came. 

Next thing suga knew, it was morning.   
He hadn’t even opened his eyes yet, but he knew it was morning. The scent of food cooking filled his nose, and the sun rays from the window felt warm on his skin. 

Suga groaned, not wanting to start the day. He reached for Daichi, or even kiyoko to snuggle together. But he’s hand just touched blankets and pillows instead. 

No Daichi, no kiyoko, although their scent was still on the bed, mixing with the smell of breakfast.   
He also heard yelling and the thud of feet running in the hallway.

Suga groaned again, his eyes slightly opening. This was why he hated sleeping in an open room with no door.  
No damn privacy. 

He buried his head into his pillow, and dragged the blanket over his head, as if it would make the sounds and light disappear. 

It didn’t last for a second. 

Suga felt the blanket being ripped away from him, but he still tried to grasp it, only to feel empty air. 

“It’s morning, suga momma!” Nishinoya’s voice rang. 

“Good morning to you,too ,” suga mumbled, fully awake now. 

He rolled around the bed, still too lazy to get up.   
“I’ll be down soon,” suga said closing his eyes again. 

“No, you’ll gonna go downstairs right now!” Nishinoya retorted. “Tanaka finished cooking!” 

Suga groaned, both at Nishinoya’s response, as well as at the thought of food that Tanaka coo- burnt. 

He felt his body being dragged by the foot. 

Suga wasn’t having it. He kicked Nishinoya’s chest as hard as he could, and the shorter boy landed on the ground with a thud. 

“DAAAIIICHHIII, SUGA KICKED ME,” Nishinoya wailed loudly, rubbing his lower back. 

“Get suga up before I whack his ass!!” Daichi’s voice rang from downstairs, followed by laughter. 

“That dumbass..“ suga muttered. 

He got up, leaving the room and grumpily yelled back, “what part of fucking language do you not fucking understand!!!” 

“Language!!!” Ennosita and tanaka’s voice rang, followed by yamaguchi’s giggling and tsukishima’s snorts. 

“Race you to the table,” Nishinoya yelled as he zoomed passed him, already recovered from the kick. 

Suga sighed, but jogged down the stairs, Nishinoya already turning right. 

He followed, and took his seat at the table, his eyes opening in surprise. 

Suga’s plate was filled with not burnt food for once, although it was still messily serverd. He poked through the cut fish with his hands, the berries and vegetables smashed around it falling.

“I thought Tanaka was cooking,” he said, jokingly. 

“Hey!!” The younger boy protesting from the other side of the table. 

Everyone else was eating the said food without gagging or choking, well the exception of tsukishima, so suga knew it was atleast decent. 

He stuffed the food in his hand, chewing softly. The fish tasted bland, and the vegetables tasted bitter but suga couldn’t complain. This was one of the better meals that the younger boy had cooked. 

“I was thinking of visiting Yuki and Kaori today,” kiyoko said softly, before eating a berry. 

“ is it the third month already?” Asahi next to her commented in wonder. “Time sure flies.” 

“Can I go with you,” ennosita asked from across the table. “I want to visit narita and kinnosita.” 

Suga glanced at Daichi as he chewed another piece of fish,, clearly worried for the younger boy’s mental health. Ennosita was never the same since the two family members died. 

As he stuffed berries to make up for the awful but not awful taste of the fish, suga realized that not everyone was at the table. 

His mind whirled in panic, cutting off Daichi’s response. 

“Head count,” he yelled, swallowing the berries he barely chewed. 

“Hina-“ yamaguchi started to explain but stopped at Suga’s fierce gaze, followed by a just as fierce  
“head count, now.” 

“One,” dachi calmly said, before stuffing another piece of fish in his mouth. 

“Two!” Suga practically yelled in panic. No one stopped him. He had a right to panic after all.   
His eyes scanned the table, realizing who was missing. 

“Three,” asahi mumbled. Once a head count started, they usually finished, even if everyone knew who was missing. It was a force of a habit. 

“F-r” Nishinoya managed to say with his mouth full. 

“Five cooked this amazing meal!” Tanaka responded happily.

“Six,” ennosita’s soft voice floated. 

“Seven, eight,” kiyoko’s wavering voice replying for her and yachi. She still wasn’t used to using narita and kinnosita’s old numbers. 

A momentary silence drooped over the table, before tsukishima sighed, getting up.

“ nine and ten went to the dumpster to find a stupid cat, and Eleven here is done with this meal,” he said leaving the table. 

“Twelve,” yamaguchi finished before plopping berries in his mouth. 

Suga frowned as the rest of the members returned to their meal. 

“Cat?” He asked in confusion.

Tanaka tilted his head.   
“Hinata didn’t tell you?” 

“He wouldn’t shut up about it,” Nishinoya added, his mouth finally without food. 

Suga shook his head, frowning as he ate another round of berries.

“Yesterday, when we went to meet hinata at the dumpster, he befriended a cat,” yamaguchi explained, as he got up to clear tsukishima’s and his plate. 

“ he named it Little Lev,” Tanaka added. “It looked exactly like him. Hinata said he wanted to find the cat and bring it, and he dragged Kageyama with him.” 

Suga and daichi exchanged worried looks at the mention of the nekoma boy’s name. 

“We’re not kids anymore,” yamaguchi said in an annoying voice. “You don’t have to hide the fact that they were massacred last year,” he choked. He quickly wiped the tears that formed, trying to live up to not being a kid as he said.

“ they weren’t massacred,” Daichi said in a neutral voice. 

“ they just disappeared,” ennosita finished, repeating what Daichi and Suga told him multiple times. The boy grabbed his cup to drink some water.

“It’s true though,” asahi said with his head down, playing with the remaining food on his plate.  
“No bodies, no blood, no trace.” 

Nishinoya stayed silent for once, slowly chewing his food.

Shouts were heard outside, signaling hinata and Kageyama’s return, and the thud of someone upstairs running downstairs ended their conversation. 

Suga opened his mouth to talk about another topic, most likely about chores that were to be done that day, when tsukishima burst open the front door.   
“Get kiyoko’s room ready, now!” The boy shouted, before heading outside again. 

Daichi gave orders to the family, but suga ran outside, fearing the worst, the dumpster did border shiratoriwaza as well as dateko, after all. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, sighing in relief when he saw hinata’s orange hair blazing in the sunlight.

He saw tsukishima help Kageyama who was struggling with something on his back, and he turned to hinata who slowly made it the door.

Suga gasped, standing in shock. He couldn’t believe what he saw, and he stood there as hinata and Kageyama and tsukishima made their way inside.

Hinata brought back a cat alright. But not the cat that suga had imagined. 

Hinata laughed happily as he splashed water one last time towards Kageyama. The taller boy was smiling too, drenched from head to toe, and shook himself to get rid of some of the water. 

Hinata got himself out of the lake, and shook himself silly too, as he basked in the morning sun. 

Kageyama walked up to him, leaving wet foot prints on the shore.

“Let’s get going, to see this damn cat. If it’s fat enough I might as well cook it. It’s my turn for dinner,” he hummed jokingly, as he shook himself again.

“Aww don’t hurt little lev!” Hinata exclaimed as he grabbed their things that they had left behind when they jumped into the lake. 

Kageyama waited for the orange head, humming a song less tune. 

He’s in a good mood today, hinata noted as he handed the bow and quiver of arrows to the boy. 

Kageyama slung the strap of the quiver onto his wet back, and loftily tossed the bow up and down. 

Hinata started walking and he followed, as it was his first time at the dumpster. 

“How was Lev like?” Kageyama asked. 

He paused, unsure if he should have. He had joined karasuno abit later than everyone else, after the fukurodani massacre, and he only saw kuroo, the leader of nekoma who had often visited Daichi and suga, till he stopped coming one day. 

Whenever the rest of karasuno often went out to hang out and catch up with nekoma back when they still saw each other , Kageyama would stay alone at the base, as he felt like he wasn’t worthy of making friends with karasuno’s allies, when karasuno had just given him a home. 

His thoughts disappeared as Hinata smiled back at him.

“Lev was really tall, and he’s probably as tall as tsukishima! He was really funny too, and we would pull pranks on Tanaka and noya! Kuroo and Yaku called him dumb but Akashi and kenma said he was smart if he actually tried using his brain, and tsukishima said he doesn’t have a brain, which doesn’t make sense, all of have of us have brains!” He said in one breath. 

“Ah.. I see,” Kageyama replied, although he wasn’t sure who half the people hinata had mentioned were. 

“Little lev has the same exact eyes as Lev,” hinata exclaimed as they reached the dumpster.   
“His fur is also similar Lev’s hair -“ 

Hinata stoped when he heard a moan.  
He turned to Kageyama, his eyes wide.   
Kageyama took an arrow from his shoulder, and clenched his fist around the bow as he pulled back the string.   
Hinata took out his dagger, from his belt, just as tense. 

“A zombie?” Hinata asked. 

“Zombies don’t exist anymore, dumbass,” Kageyama breathed back.   
His hand holding the arrow shook as he had replied, Kageyama clenched the bow even harder. 

Sort of assured that it wasn’t a morbid monster from the stories that the older kids told of, hinata walked deeper into the hoards of items.  
Kageyama followed, hoping that it really wasn’t a zombie. They were supposed to be gone years ago, right?

What they found laying on the sofa was just as worse. 

Kageyama saw traces of blood, ahead, and the body that was on the ground was barely moving. He noticed that there was a smaller body behind that one. 

He heard hinata gasp, and he aimed the arrow past the bodies, just in case there was more. 

Hinata though, dropped his dagger, and ran towards the sofa, ignoring Kageyama’s hisses of warning. 

The bare back was scared with multiple scars and gashes some of them more fresh than others. Different colored bruises were all over the body, But the gash on the leg was the worst, half dried in blood, half still wet at the small pool the was forming at the foot. The hair, once short and spiky, was now long and tangled. The face was swollen and dirty, the eyes barely opened.

Hinata barely recognized his friend, who recognized him back. The metal blue eyes that were almost lifeless stared back at hinata. 

“H-hn-ta,” the voice rasped. 

“Akashi?? Akashi don’t talk, we’ll get you out of here,” hinata rambled, getting over the shock.   
He took off his wet shirt and pressed it onto the wound on the leg, and Akashi moaned in pain at the pressure.

Hinata couldn’t count how many scars and bruises there were on akashi’s back and he couldn’t breathe when he saw numbers, real numbers engravedd deep into the left shoulder.   
——000005——  
What happened to his friend? Where was bokuto? The rest of fukurodani? 

Hinata’s eyes grew even wider when he noticed what was on akashi’s wrist. Lev’s green bracelet. 

Why did he have lev’s bracelet ? where was akashi’s ? Why was he half naked? 

Hinata’s head was whirling with so many questions that he almost didn’t hear his voice.

“Mmwa” 

Akashi was saying something. 

“Don’t talk,” hinata said softly as he tied his shirt around the wound. 

Akashi attempted again.

“Kwen mwa,” he sputtered as he closed his eyes. 

“Kenma?”  
Hinata wasn’t sure if that was what the older boy had said.   
. Then he realized why Kageyama was silent, he was hovering over something that hinata didn’t see earlier. Another body, and hinata gasped as Kageyama held it his nekoma friend in his arm. The smaller boy didn’t look any better than Akashi, the blonde and black hair covering the face like a mop. Hinata knew that his friend never had black hair, only blonde, but he was more afraid that he kenma wasn’t breathing. 

“He’s barely breathing, and his body is burning up” Kageyama Echoed his thoughts. “I think he’s unconscious.” 

“F-f-or dayz” Akashi moaned. . 

“He’s been unconscious for four days?” Kageyama exclaimed shocked. “How is he fucking alive?” 

Akashi didn’t reply. 

“Akashi? Akashi! Wake up!” Hinata wailed, shaking the unresponsive body. 

“Hinata calm down,he passed out,” Kageyama said as he set kenma down next to his bow.

He grabbed the strap that held the quiver, looping it so the quiver was facing his chest rather than in his back. He kneeled, ignoring the stones and shards piercing his knees. 

“Help me get him on my back. “ 

Hinata snaped out of panicking and he lifted Akashi as much as he could, half dragging the older boy onto Kageyama’s back. He didn’t weigh much, and he was much, much more thin then the last time hinata had seen him two years ago. 

Kageyama hoisted the boy up and the limp arms and legs dangled as he got up. He realized that his bow was still on the ground, and he kneeled on one knee, using one hand to swiftly grab the bow. The boy was slipping and Kageyama got up again, using both of his hands to support the boy. 

“Hinata, can you grab the other boy,” he asked as he turned around. 

“His name is kenma,” hinata grunted, struggling to get his friend on his own back. 

“Why is he burning? That’s not good,” he commented as he used the sofa for support. 

Finally, hinata somehow managed to get kenma’s body on his bare back, with his friend's head on his shoulder. 

“Let’s go,” he said, walking towards the forest, forgetting the reason why they had came to the dumpster in the first place.   
Kageyama followed without a word. 

They were at the clearing that began the forest when something jumped out the so called dumpster.   
It meowed. 

“Little lev!”   
The cat meowed again. 

“I’m sorry Little Lev, but my friends are hurt. I’ll visit you soon okay?” Hinata was actually talking to the cat, as if it understood human language. 

Kageyama wondered how someone his age was so innocent. Back at aobajoshi, his former group mates were brutal. all of them would have killed the cat on site, and probably would have killed Akashi and kenma as well. 

He was glad he met hinata. 

“Kageyama,” the said boy’s voice was serious.   
“Let’s run back to the base. They need help now” 

Kageyama blinked. Hinata wasn’t only innocent be he was also mature when needed. 

He felt Akashi move on his back.   
“hold on tight,” Kageyama said, wondering if the boy heard him. 

And with that they ran as fast as they could, weaving in between the trees, running past the lake they had fooled around in earlier. 

Kageyama breathed sharply as they reached the mansion like building he now called home.   
The front gate on their path was thankfully unlocked, and they walked towards it, finally slowing down. 

Kageyama and hinata lifted their heads towards an open window on the second floor, watching a shocked tsukishima stare at them with wide eyes. 

“Don’t just stand there, stingyshima! Get help!!” Hinata shouted. 

The figure disappeared from the window. 

The old gate creaked as they walked towards inside. 

Tsukishima was somehow next him, grabbing his bow so Kageyama could hold Akashi with both arms. 

“Is he- “ 

“ he lost a lot of blood,” Kageyama answered.   
Sugawara was at the door, just as shocked. 

“Aka-“ 

“Akashi and kenma,” hinata interrupted. 

Sugawara just nodded.   
“Hurry inside,” he said opening the door wider. 

“Suga, you and kiyoko can save them right,” hinata asked as he made his way to kiyoko’s room. Their medical bay. 

“We’ ll try our best,” sugawara gently said. 

Kageyama didn’t comment on the look of fear and doubt on the older’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama was hard to write so I kinda switched to hinata’s POV in the middle. 
> 
> I hope that you enjoyed suga taking care of his family. 
> 
> Thank you for the kudos and comments


	6. A lullaby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://youtu.be/grreLxsdGnA
> 
> There may be a few errors in grammar and spelling I’m sorry

Oiwka stared at kindachi and kunimi in disbelief.  
He had sent them to scout after they all heard all the gunshots the day before. It was a risky move, but they followed his orders without protest.  
He did not expect for the boys to come back with a bloody white shirt and information that shook him to his core, both in shock and anger. 

Oikawa sighed, clenching his hands together trying to stay calm. 

“So, you’re telling me that Akashi of fukurodani, and kenma of nekoma are still fucking alive??” 

Kunimi flinched at the raise of his voice, but kindachi nodded, staying still. 

“They somehow appeared out of no where, showing up at the johenzi dumpster wounded.It seems that Akashi had dragged himself and kenma all the way through from dateko’s wall. There were traces of blood halfway, and the shirt was next to the wall.” 

“There’s something else…” kunimi almost whispered. 

At that even kindachi shifted uncomfortably.  
Iwaizumi arched his eye brows curiously, before looking at Oikawa. 

“There were two karasuno members that helped Akashi and kenma. They probably took them to their base or hideout, although their base is closer.” 

“That’s not surprising. Karasuno are their allies,” Oikawa hissed. 

“Well…. one of the two was…” kunimi trailed off, lowering his head. 

Oikawa narrowed his eyes. For some reason he felt like he knew what they were going to say. 

“One of them was an orange haired boy, and the other was Tobio,” iwaizumi said all their thoughts out loud. 

Kindachi’s surprised eyes said the answer to Oikawa’s hunch. 

“Oh my…..” Oikawa mummered. He saw kindachi relax a bit.

“Tobio and that chibi Chan are still alive? HOW ARE THEY FUCKING ALIVE?!?” He shouted angrily at no one. “I fucking shot them that day!”

Kunimi flinched again, but still somehow kept standing up. If kindachi reacted to Oikawa’s outburst, he didn’t show it. 

Iwaizumi dismissed the younger boys, who ran out of the room just as fast. 

“Calm down, shittykawa.” Iwaizumi mumbled. 

“Karasuno……” Oikawa muttered in frustration.  
He threw the bloody shirt at the door. 

Iwaizumi stayed silent. 

Oikawa laid down on his bed, face down on the shit that he called a pillow. Really, it was a bunch of torn up clothes stuffed together.  
“Hm mh pffft w lft?”

“Talk to me property dumbass,” Iwaizumi replied, sitting down at the table. 

“How much food do we have left?”  
Oikawa’s voice was serious. 

“If 2 meals a day, probably about 2 more weeks.” 

Oikawa screamed in frustration.  
Fuck karasuno, fuck shiratoriwaza. 

His mind vividly remembered that day 2 years ago. When fukurodani was massacred, leaving behind a vast forest full of food and resources, that karasuno defended successfully. The day Oikawa lost Matsukawa forever. and Kageyama’s betrayal tearing them apart. Of course, karasuno had suffered casualties too, Kinoshita Hisashi and Narita Kazuhito shot dead by kyotani, their mad dog. But karasuno’s message was clear. They weren’t afraid to kill to defend their friends.

“Matsukawa’s death wasn’t your fault,” Iwaizumi’s voice said. 

“I wasn’t thinking about him,” Oikawa snarled as he opened his eyes. “I was thinking of how to fucking get food for our asses!” 

Both of them knew it was a lie, but Oikawa was not in the mood. 

“Makki, yahaba, and watri still haven’t returned. They’re fucking traitors…” 

“They might be dead,” Iwaizumi replied. “Who knows. Not all of us are like Kageyama.” 

Oikawa grunted. He wanted to get mad at Iwaizumi, but he couldn’t. 

Then an idea came to his head. It was a stupid idea, no an impossible idea. But Oikawa was done with living a shitty life. It was turn to make someone else’s shitter.  
Oikawa stuffed his guilt that was rising.

To be fair, he wasn’t the one who massacred johzenji, or fukurodani. No, that was fucking ushijima. 

No, Oikawa wasn’t as inhuman as him. 

“Iwa Chan…..”

“No.” 

“You didn’t even hear what I was going to say…”

“You’re thinking of attacking dateko for food.” 

“Am I that obvious?” Oikawa sighed. 

“Don’t do it. It will cause an uproar. We can’t afford another massacre.” 

“I hate you, iwa Chan.” 

“I hate you too, crappy-kawa.” 

Oikawa smiled. Deep down, he knew he would do anything for Iwaizumi to stay by his side, even if it meant killing his own family members. After all, like Iwaizumi said, not all of them were like Kageyama but some of them might as well be. 

Ushijima and tendou walked in silence towards an abandoned building near their base.  
Well, it wasn’t abandoned. But no one was supposed to know.

The moonlight shone on the empty steets, creating huge shadows. 

Tendo hummed a bright tune, his right hand wrapped in bandages. 

“How can you be so happy after they stabbed you?” Ushijima’s flat tone asked.  
He mainly said something to stop the humming, it was getting on his nerves. 

“Oh, I’m not happy. I want to crush their fucking hearts ,” Tendo maliciously replied. “I’m just thinking about how to do that,” returning to his cheery tune. 

Ushijima just sighed in annoyance as they reached the building. On the outside, it was just a normal looking empty building, blending with the many on the street. 

The inside was a whole different story. 

Hoshimi was at the door, and the small white haired boy nodded at the two, before disappearing into the hallway. 

“What an asshole. He didn’t even open the door for us,” Tendo commented as he opened the door himself. 

The lights slowly came on, turning on as they walked inside. 

Ushijima stared At the ceiling in envy. Their own base’s light source has dimmed, electricity barely running. When it did, it was rare. 

“Ah you’re finally here,” atsumu greeted them at their meeting room.  
His brother next to him didn’t say anything, just nodded. 

“What happened to you,” ushijima asked, referring to a large bite mark on atsumu’s arm. 

“He got bitten by bokuto,” osamu replied, before disappearing into the room. 

Tendo laughed. “That spunk is still alive and kicking, huh.” 

Atsumu frowned at the remark.  
“2 of them escaped.” 

“Who,” Ushijima asked, angrily. “I thought you can do better than that!” 

“It was mainly hoshimi’s fault,” sasuka’s voice replied behind him. “He forgot to lock the change properly. Kuroo and bokuto broke the lock, at the expense of their own hands.” 

Ushijima didn’t care how they escaped.  
“If the others find out-“ 

“They won’t.” Hoshimi replied from the room.  
“The master says the plan is complete. Come inside, you’ll know why.” 

Tendo went in first, and he was silent.  
Ushijima knew something was up, since Tendo was slient. He heard snarls and growling, and his mind realized what it was as he went inside. 

He saw the “master” first . The older man was in his late 30’s , the oldest out of all the humans that lived in the area. His hair was tied back, and his back was facing him but Ushijima knew his face well enough. 

Infront of them though was the real reason why they had came. The 1st cage held five people. Three from aobajoshi, and two from his own so called family - kawanishi and yamagata. Yamagata was still, unmoving. 

“Tendo? Ushijima san?” 

Ushijima ignored kawanishi’s scared voice. 

All of his attention was on the second cage.  
Inside, the bodies of Komi and Washiro from fukurodani reached out. Although it was their bodies, it wasn’t them. No, the living souls of the owls were long gone. Their eyes were grey in an inhuman way, their faces with veins popping snarling and gnawing at the bars that held them back. They were still recognizable, but barely. They weren’t humans. They were zombies. 

The group’s plan worked. Ushijima didn’t know how, but it worked. 

He turned to the leader. 

“These boys are next,” the blonde rasped, referring to the five in the other cage. 

“Who’s our target,” Tendo asked, mesmerized. 

“Dateko. Then, aobajoshi, and finally, my little crows.” 

Hinata stared at kenma’s unconscious body.  
It had been three days since they had found Akashi and kenma, and while Akashi awoke from short periods, kenma hadn’t moved at all. He was just as limp as when hinata had brought him in. 

Hinata stayed in the room the whole time, helping kiyoko and suga treat their wounds and keeping yachi company, leaving only to eat his meals and come back. No one really stopped him, and sometimes tsukishima stayed with him to check on akashi, holding back on his usual sneers and jabs at the shorter boy.

Yachi had woken up healthily the day after they had brought Akashi and kenma, although she stayed in bed as she was still very weak.. 

Hinata kept her company, telling her the story of how they got the medicine that saved her, and his little adventure at dateko and the dumpster with little lev. 

The small girl laughed along and her smile brightened his worried mood. 

To think that just a week ago he was scared that they would loose her. 

Now he was worried for kenma and Akashi, wondering if Lev was alive too. Hinata fumbled with lev’s bracelet before placing it next to the bed stand next to Akashi. 

Hinata didn’t comment earlier, but he smiled when he realized that both he and tsukishima both wore their bracelets, orange and yellow faded strands once around their wrists again. 

Akashi didn’t have his own on him, although lev’s on his wrist was a sign that their cherished friendship wasn’t forgotten.

The older boy drifted in and out of consciousness, not awake long enough to talk with Hinata or Tsukishima who were always by his side. His leg was healing slowly, with a visible scar that was slowly forming. Cleaning it and disinfecting it took a lot of their alcohol supply but suga and kiyoko, the two family members who had the most medical knowledge, didn’t complain. They were just as worried as everyone else. 

The sound of Someone coming in the room interrupt hinata’s trace of thought. 

“Hinata, it’s already late, you should get some sleep,” suga said behind him. 

Hinata wanted to protest, but his tired body didn’t let him. When he slept, he had slept by kenma’s bed for the past few days, and most of the time he was awake, helping kiyoko or suga change akashi’s bandages and treating their other wounds.  
Sleeping in his own bed with Kageyama was a luxurious thought  
“I don’t wann-“ hinata never finished his sentence, as his mouth let out a huge yawn.  
He felt suga pet his head.  
“To your room. Now,” suga gently ordered. 

Across the room, yachi moved in her bed, but didn’t wake.

Kiyoko hummed her agreement, as she sat down next to akashi.  
“We’ll watch over them. Go to sleep,hinata,” she said. 

Finally giving in, hinata got up, slowly walking to the door. Suga’s arm was around his back, and he led the boy to his own room. 

In the dark, hinata could see the shape of Kageyama’s body already deep in sleep on their bed. Hinata sleepily got into bed next to him, and snuggled deep in the blanket. 

Suga patted his head like he always did, pulling the blanket up to his neck. 

“Suga?”  
“Hmm?” The older hummed. 

“Sing me the lullaby that Yaku always sang,” hinata said as he yawned. “Maybe kenma will wake when he hears it.”

Suga didn’t comment that lullabies were meant to make people fall asleep. 

He leaned on the bed,, and started to sing as hinata closed his eyes.

“Lonely wind, blue rain falls, standing alone  
Light that I chased is you

Faraway blurring, longing to belong  
Sailing through surging billows

Wondering how can I touch your time  
On my way to destiny  
When I am facing reality  
Don’t to be walking alone

I want to know how long it will takes get there  
Anyone can’t make me fall…”

Hinata was already fast asleep before suga had started the chorus, but he finished anyway. 

“Though I am go astray in deepest maze  
I’m the one who make it real  
Ah, how can I touch your time  
On my way to destiny

Ah, where are you in the end?  
Will this maze guide me to you?

Though I am go astray in deepest maze  
I’m the one who make it real  
Lonely wind, blue rain falls, waiting someone  
Light that I chased is you..”

Getting up, Suga wiped the tears that had formed in his eyes. His heart was heavy with memories of Kenma,lev, Nishinoya, and hinata innocently sleeping as yaku sang the song. 

As he softly closed the door, he remembered himself and Daichi also falling asleep at the sweet voice, back at the fukurodani treehouse that was now empty and bare. 

Suga hummed the melody again as he made his way back to kiyoko’s room.  
The said girl was at the door.

“You know, you should follow your own advice,” she chided as she let him inside. 

Suga wanted to retort that she herself should go to bed, but realize that he couldn’t, as this was still her room. 

Kiyoko smirked as if she knew his thought.

“Suga san..” 

Suga went up to Akashi, who was awake, fiddling with lev’s bracelet. 

“How are you feeling, Akashi?” He asked as he pulled up a chair to his bed. 

“I feel like shit,” came the blunt reply. 

Suga smiled in relief. Now that was the Akashi he remembered.

“Can you… can you sing me the song too? Yaku san used to sing it all the time at the treehouse,” Akashi whispered as he put the bracelet back on the stand. “Yaku san sang it to me all the time…” his voice trailed off. 

“Shhh,” suga comforted. “Close your eyes,” 

Akashi laid down, hugging a pillow. He closed his eyes. 

Suga pulled the blanket up again, and started to sing.

“Lonely wind, blue rain falls, standing alone  
Light that I chased is you

Faraway blurring, longing to belong  
Sailing through surging billows

Wondering how can I touch your time  
On my way to destiny  
When I am facing reality  
Don’t to be walking alone

I want to know how long it will takes get there  
Anyone can’t make me fall….” 

This time Suga couldn’t finish. He felt his own eyes droop, and he laid his head down next to akashi’s body, almost falling asleep. 

He felt kiyoko drape a blanket over his shoulders with a smug, “ follow your own advice, Suga momma.” 

Suga closed his eyes, falling asleep.  
he dreamed of yaku smiling, gently singing and the rest of his disappeared friends next to him greeting him with open arms.

Somewhere deep underground. 

“Though I am go astray in deepest maze  
I’m the one who make it real  
Ah, how can I touch your time  
On my way to destiny

Ah, where are you in the end?  
Will this maze guide me to you?

Though I am go astray in deepest maze  
I’m the one who make it real  
Lonely wind, blue rain falls, waiting someone  
Light that I chased is you..”

Yaku sighed as he softly brushed Inuoka’s hair, the younger boy asleep on his lap. 

Next to him, Kai gently breathed, softly humming the tune that he just sang. 

For some reason yaku sneezed, the sound echoing through the tunnels that was once their own base.  
Kai turned to him, but didn’t get up.  
“I’m okay,” he replied. 

Kai softly chucked.  
“Hmm?” Yaku asked. 

“Don’t you remember what Daichi once said to us?” 

Yaku suddenly sneezed again. 

“When you sneeze, someone is thinking of you,” Kai hummed.

“Do you think karasuno is okay?” Yaku asked, thinking of suga.

“Maybe they’re the ones thinking of you,” kai replied, closing his eyes.

Inuoka moved slightly, and yaku petted his hair till the boy relaxed.

“Maybe,” yaku said sadly, staring at the deep tunnel ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here the is the yaku’s lullaby. It’s actually part of a soundtrack to a korean drama that I am watching, but the melody is so soothing that I listen to it before I sleep these days.  
> I don’t own the lyrics or the song. 
> 
> https://youtu.be/grreLxsdGnA
> 
> Thanks for the comments and kudos ^ *^ 
> 
> See you soon!


	7. A talk and a secret of the past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are mentions of rape in the beginning. Nothing really graphic though.  
> This chapter is abit longer than the others but not by much.

Akashi felt it. He whimpered, the pain from the slap followed by a thrust overwhelming. It didn’t feel good. It hurt.

“Please…. please stop…” he begged weakly. 

His hands were tied and handcuffed above his head, his wrist bleeding from the pressure.

“Please…”  
he felt his back being whipped and he screamed.  
The thrusts became faster and faster. 

“No….” Lev’s voice moaned.

Akashi let his tears fall.

To make it worse, Lev was there too, being raped right infront of Akashi. The tall young boy was blindfolded, with his hands on his back, pulled by otsamu.

Akashi couldn’t do anything for the boy, and that hurt him the most, more than being tortured, more than being raped. 

The thrusts became faster than ever, and Akashi cried. 

“Akashi..” Lev whispered. 

“Akashi.” 

“Akashi!” It wasn’t lev’s voice anymore. It was familiar, but didn’t know who. The voice was concerned. 

“Akashi!” He felt a hand on his back. It was soft, but he flinched and recoiled from it anyway. 

“Don’t Hurt me !!” He wailed, tears streaming down his face. 

The pain and thrusts were gone now, but the burning image of lev was still in his mind. 

“Leave Lev alone..” he cried. “Leave...him..”

“Akashi.” This time he knew the voice. Sugawara. The voice who sang him the lullaby.

Akashi opened his eyes, realizing that it was just a vivid nightmare. Sugawara was looking at him concerned, and Daichi was behind him, mirroring the other boy’s expression. 

Akashi turned his head to the side, watching kenma’s body move up and down on the other bed. Dim sunlight from the dawn shone through the window, the sky a mixture of pink and blue. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice cracking. 

Suga held his hand, soft but firm.  
His other hand wiped tears from Akashi’s face, just like Lev did. He started to cry again thinking of his friend, and suga wiped every single tear that fell. Akashi leaned his head , the older boy embraced him, pressing his head against his chest.

It smelled nice and familiar. It smelled like how Yukie and yaku did when they hugged him. It smelled like bokuto and kuroo too. His senses were probably fucked up, but Akashi didn’t care. All of them smelled nice, warming and calm.  
He hiccuped, thinking of Yukie and Kaori.

Daichi spoke softly. “You’re okay, now. No one is gonna hurt you here.”

Akashi nodded. “I should tell you what happened to us…” 

“You don’t have to, if you’re not ready yet.” Suga’s voice said calmly.he felt the boy gently pat his hair. “We can wait.” 

“No.” Akashi said, leaving suga’s hug. The older boy’s hand still held his own, the thumb gently grazing the top. A motherly habit, just like kaori did. He missed her. 

He stared at Daichi.

“They can’t wait.” 

“They?” Daichi’s eyes widened. He pulled a chair and sat down. “Are the rest of you still alive?” 

Akashi started shaking, thinking about how to start. Suga’s grip on his hand tightened, in a gentle way, as if assuring him. 

After calming down and blinking the tears away, Akashi nodded. “But.. but not all of us.” 

“Yukie, kaori, Onaga,” Daichi listed. 

Akashi’s eyes widened. He nodded.  
“They died right away… when..” he shuddered, unable to finish. He leaned towards suga again, who hugged him gently.

“When shiratoriwaza came,” Daichi finished for him. Akashi nodded again, grateful that he didn’t use the m word. 

He let a shaky breath out before starting again.  
“T-t-they took the rest of us to a building, a building in shiratoriwaza’s territory. They stuffed us in a large cage. It was larger than this room. And it was dark. Really really dark. The water they gave us tasted like piss. They made us eat bugs and raw meat, like animals.” He hiccuped, remembering being so scared. Suga’s hand was rubbing his back,and Akashi buried his head onto the boy’s chest. 

Daichi didn’t say anything, just looking at him in anger. Akashi knew he wasn’t angry at him, but at who ever did this to them. But he didn’t even get to the worst part. 

“They did things to us. They branded numbers into our skin with hot iron.” Akashi brushed the shirt sleeve on his shoulder away. On the skin, his number showed, engraved deep into his skin. 000005. 

He felt suga shake. Akashi looked up to see anger in the boy’s eyes. He never seen the older boy this furious, not when bokuto had stolen his clothes, not when kuroo stabbed him with jeers, not when the younger kids almost burnt down a building on their street. He stared back at Daichi, and the energy was mirrored. Both of them were furious. 

Akashi wasn’t sure if he should continue.  
He felt suga’s embrace on him tighten, as if the older would never let go. 

“Other things too,” he whimpered. “They tortured us and and and … and they raped us. They raped me the most. Every day.” And lev too. He added in his head. 

“Oh you poor boy,” suga mummered.  
It wasn’t pity in his voice. It was overlapped by concern, but the anger was there. Akashi felt the shift in emotions, when suga laid his head on top of his. Something wet fell on his cheek, and it wasn’t his own tears. Suga was crying. It was Akashi’s turn to wipe tears away. Suga’s eyes were full of different emotions - anger, sadness, helplessness, relief. All of them. 

Daichi slammed his clenched his fist on the bed.  
Akashi moved his injured leg away, just in case the older threw a tantrum.

“What kind of monster….” 

“It wasn’t Ushijima.” Akashi said.picking up Lev’s bracelet. Suga’s eyes narrowed, thinking the worst. Akashi shook his head. He knew what he was thinking, and he didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. 

Daichi stared at him in disbelief.  
“But it was shiratoriwaza-“ 

“Do you know anyone by the name of atsumu and osamu Miya?” Akashi interrupted him. 

Daichi’s eyes widened. “The twins? No that’s not…” 

“They’re alive?” Suga whispered in fear. 

“Do you know them?” Akashi asked, fumbling with lev’s bracelet. 

Suga and Daichi gave each other a look, an unspoken conversation. 

Suga’s grip on him became abit loose, only to have him pet Akashi’s hair. 

When Daichi spoke, his voice was shaky, all the anger from earlier gone. 

“When the zombies were still roamed around, there were a group of humans that ruthlessly killed them. They didn’t hesitate to kill other humans too. The twins and ushijima were part of this group, before ukai, our old leader, and nekoma’s old leader Nekomata, stopped them from killing the remaining humans.” 

Suga’s hand was back on Akashi’s again, gripping it tightly.  
He continued as Daichi stopped. 

“At first bokuto was interested in joining this group.”  
Akashi blinked. He knew that bokuto wasn’t a monster, he was sure that he had his reasons.

“Bokuto …. he wasn’t the bokuto that you, the rest of us, know now. He was just as ruthless and heartless as Ushijima. Terushima and Bokuto killed so many humans… before they met Yukie, kaori, and Misaki and and….” Suga trailed off.

“Runa” dachi whispered, closing his eyes. He continued, thinking of how to say what happened.

“Atsumu killed Runa in front of their eyes. He killed a fucking ten year old innocent girl right infront of their eyes. Terushima never forgave them, and left for good. Bokuto stayed, but he wasn’t the same. He left Yukie and Kaori to kuroo, but he stayed with the group.” 

Akashi listened, not saying a word.  
The next words from suga’s mouth brought a chill to his spine.

“Until he found you. You were probably nine? Ten? Maybe eleven. Bokuto found you next a building that’s probably in dateko’s area now. He said that you were the most precious kid he ever saw.” 

“Atsumu tried to kill you. He shot a bullet at you, but it never hit you. It hit Bokuto’s arm instead.”  
Daichi mummered. 

Akashi felt tears running down his cheeks, and suga’s chest next to his head once again. Bokuto…. the idiot who he called his leader… called him precious and saved him.

“Bokuto shot his guns at Atsumu and osamu, and fled to the dumpster taking you with him, where Terushima was hiding. After his arm healed, he explored the rest of the forest, finding the gym, and this building abandoned. After we killed all the zombies, Bokuto decided to start a family with you and Yukie and kaori.” Daich said, lost in the old memories. 

Akashi knew the story from there.  
“We lived in the third gym, and together with kuroo’s family and you, we built the treehouses. We all lived peacefully and happily until Ushijima decided to kill johzenji… and us.” 

Suga nodded.  
“To think that… they’re still alive… and that they did this to you….” Akashi felt tears from the boy again. 

“Were hoshimi and sa-sa…” Akashi stuttered, not remembering the other name. 

“Sakusa .” Daichi said. His fists clenched even tighter. “They did this to you too?” 

Akashi nodded. “Atsumu and osamu mainly tortured us, and hoshimi and sasuka tortured nekoma.” 

“What happened to kenma?and the rest of nekoma? ” suga asked. 

Akashi shuddered again, thinking of the day he saw his friends’ faces again.  
“My family was in the cage for a really long time. We didn’t know when it was day or night, or how long we had been in there, until one day they threw nekoma members in the cage too. We were so happy to see them. But it wasn’t all of them.” 

“Not all of them?” Daichi questioned. 

Akashi shook his head. “Yaku, Kai, fukuhaga, Yamamoto, teshiro, and inouka weren’t there.” 

“So only kuroo, kenma, Lev, and shibayama,” suga listed. He knew their friends names by heart. All of them did. 

Akashi nodded, and he continued.  
“Kuroo told us that it had been one year since they tried to kill us. He said that one day, his family were at their old underground base, when a group of people attacked them.” 

“In nekoma’s underground maze? No one ever goes down there, unless you’re nekoma, even I’ve never been down there,” Daichi commented. “But who is they?”

Suga didn’t say anything.

Akashi fiddled with his fingers, the green bracelet laced in between them. 

“Kuroo and his small group got separated from yaku and the rest of them. But they saw teshiro get killed. Kuroo tried to attack back, but they… they told him that if he did they would kill yaku and Kai. Kenma stopped him, and they brought them to the cage. Since then, hoshimi brutally tortured Kuroo and kenma.” 

“Who is they, Akashi. Who has the rest of the nekoma?” Daichi’s voice was steady, and Akashi knew what he was thinking. The karasuno leader wanted to save the rest of nekoma.

“I don’t know. Kuroo said a name, and bokuto reacted to it. But it wasn’t a name I knew, so I forgot.” Akashi lowered his head.

“Hoshimi, sakusa, Atsumu, osamu… no. No.” 

Akashi looked at suga. The boy had figured out who it was. 

“Daishiro,” Daichi growled. 

Akashi blinked at the unfamiliar name. Suga’s nails were digging into his hand. 

“Sorry,” suga apologized. “But thinking of that bastard makes my blood boil.” He laid his hand flat on top of his.

“Of course Daishiro would try to attack Kuroo.” 

“Yaku is still alive. He has to be,” suga said. 

Akashi didn’t want to say that he might be dead. He wanted yaku san to be alive. 

“Daishiro wouldn’t kill yaku. He would try to fucking rape him. He was furious when yaku joined Kuroo. That bastard…” Daichi snarled. 

“I’m not done yet.” Akashi’s voice stopped their momentary anger. “There’s more…” 

“More? How fucked up can this get,” suga growled. Akashi never knew that the gentle boy could get this angry. As if he knew his thought, suga hugged him gently again. Normally, Akashi hated hugs. But he was so grateful for suga and daichi. 

“Hoshimi did experiments on kenma and bokuto. They never really talked about it, so I don’t know how bad it is. But it was so bad that their hair color and personality changed. They started growing black hair. Bokuto isn’t the same anymore. He never smiled at me anymore.” He choked back his tears, and he let suga embrace him again.

“Kenma who used to be calm and collected, he isn’t anymore. He screamed at everything, except for kuroo. Then… a few days ago, hoshimi threw kenma in the cage, and he never woke up. He still hasn’t waken up.” Akashi started shaking again, and suga’s arms around him grew tighter. 

“How did you escape?” Daichi asked softly, staring at the injured leg wrapped in many bandages. 

Akashi blinked.  
“Kuroo…” he wondered if he was okay.  
“Kuroo and bokuto broke the lock. Mostly Kuroo. He probably broke his own hands while trying to break the lock.” 

Daichi snorted. “Sounds like Kuroo alright.” 

“Bokuto and Kuroo told me to take kenma and run. They told me that the dateko’s wall was nearby, and near it the dumpster. Lev gave me his bracelet too. I tried to convince him to come with me, when atsumu and sakusa realized that we were gonna escape. The rest of them held those two back, while I ran for it with kenma on my back. Sasuka stabbed me in the leg, but still, I ran.” 

Suga’s head was now on top of his, and it felt comforting. Akashi breathed in the nice scent.

“When I was outside, I heard gunshots, and shiratoriwaza members saying that hinata had jumped over the wall. I was reckless and I headed towards the iron wall without thinking. They tried to shoot me, and it almost hit me and kenma. By the time I reached the dumpster, it was already nightfall, and I lost a lot of blood. I lost consciousness. The next morning hinata and that aobajoshi boy found us, and brought us here.”  
Akashi closed his eyes. Suddenly he felt tired, although it was already morning, way past dawn.

“You did well,” Daichi said. “We’ll take care of you, and we’ll save bokuto and kuroo and the rest.dont you worry.” 

Akashi nodded. Karasuno would do anything to help them. He just hoped that it won’t cost them everything. 

“Do you wanna rest for abit,” suga asked sweetly.  
He nodded.

Hinata was right. Suga was practically a mom. Akashi smiled at the thought. He opened his eyes, and untangled himself from the boys arm. 

“You never finished the lullaby for me,” Akashi mummered as he laid down on the bed. 

Suga petted his head, brushing away his now long messy hair. 

Akashi gently fell asleep, as the boy sang the familiar tune sweetly. This time he dreamed of the past, of a better memory. When bokuto and Akashi, Kuroo and yaku, and daichi and suga were at the treehouse, staring at the perfectly cloudy blue sky, yaku singing the sad lullaby, as Akashi fell asleep next to bokuto. 

Asahi stared at Daichi in disbelief.  
“You’re telling me, the twins, hoshimi, sakusa , AND Daishiro are all alive?” 

Ennosita beside him was probably confused as hell, but the younger boy didn’t say anything. 

Daichi and suga had pulled Asahi, kiyoko, and ennosita in an emergency meeting in ennosita’s room as soon as they had finished talking with Akashi. 

They told the other three of what Akashi had told them, sparing the very few personal details. 

Ennosita was the only one who didn’t know the names, but he politely let the others talk, still shocked from the horrors that his friend went through. 

“Poor boy. He went through so much…” kiyoko said softly. “Not to mention the others…” 

“What about the rest of nekoma?” Ennosita finally asked. “ are the six of them still alive?” 

Daichi pulled out an old map that they all knew well. Kenma had gifted them a map that he had personally hand drawn years ago. 

The paper’s edges was torn with age, and some of the lines were starting to fade, but it was used the nevertheless.

Daichi rolled it out on the floor, and they all gathered around him. 

He pointed at their street on the map, the one that they gave to nekoma and fukurodani.  
“the main entrance to nekoma’s underground maze is somewhere on this street, probably on Nekoma’s side. Kuroo once told me that they have multiple other ways to get underground, but he never told me where.” 

Suga also pointed at the map.  
“ this is shiratoriwaza’s base. An old hospital. My theory is that they either took our friends to their hideout, or to another building in their territory, more up north.” 

Ennosita tilted his head in confusion.  
“Did Akashi mention that the members of shiratoriwaza knew of the cage and the other group of humans? Cause if they don’t, why would Ushijima hide them at their hideout?” 

“Good point, Ennosita.” Daichi said.  
“I think we can possible cross out the possiblity of the cage being at their hideout. The hideout as of last year is near aobajoshi’s border. Akashi said he saw the Great Wall, and he escaped by following it to the dumpster, so the building he was in has to be more north.” 

Asahi frowned. “We haven’t heard from aobajoshi in awhile. They’ve been too quiet. They probably would have caused a ruckus the other day from all the gunshots, but they didn’t.” 

“They’re the last of our problem.” Kiyoko commented. “ we just stole from shiratoriwaza, and Akashi and kenma escaping the same day, Ushijima is not gonna be happy. He knows that fukurodani are our friends, and he can probably trace Akashi to atleast the dumpster…” 

“No one is to go as far as the dumpster then. We rarely used to go all the way out there anyway,” Daichi declared. 

“And I want double the evening and morning patrols within our borders. No one is to go to the dumpster. Repeat that to hinata. If going to the city and fukurodani’s forest, I want atleast two others with the person.” 

Everyone hummed their agreement. 

Daichi then lowered his head. “ I want to go to nekoma’s maze… and fight Daishiro, but…. But I can’t afford to loose any of you.” 

“ we’re all with you,” ennosita replied. “ we want to help our friends.” 

Daichi stared at him, abit surprised that it was Ennosita replying. After all, it was because of protecting their friends that they had lost two family members closest to him. 

“I’ve been to the maze before, with yaku.”  
Suga’s voice shocked everyone. 

“I went through an entrance near our border at that time, but yaku said that they started closing that entrance. The second time I went, I went to the main entrance on the street, but I don’t remember where it exactly is. Yaku had lead me there.” 

Daichi just looked at him, and then sighed. 

“The day after tomorrow, then.”  
All of them turned to look at him. 

“The day after tomorrow I want suga to lead a patrol armed with weapons to the maze. The fast we get our Neko friends out, the better.  
Suga, tsukishima, Tanaka…. and.. Nishinoya,” Daichi ordered. “ Suga be prepared to attack. You know how daishhiro acts.” 

Suga nodded, and no one else spoke on the matter. 

“Today’s family day,” asahi mumbled, breaking the silence.

“And the third month too,” ennosita commented. 

Daichi looked at Suga and Kiyoko.  
Both of them shook their heads.  
“Yachi is still too weak to make it all the way to the gym,” kiyoko said as she rolled the map up. 

“It would be great if Akashi could join us, but he can barely walk out of the room, much less out of the house.” Suga added. 

“Suga, Do you mind staying behind to take care of yachi and Akashi? It’s been awhile since I visited them myself…” Daichi asked as he slumped on the frame of ennosita’s bed.

“Of course Daichi. Say hi to kinnosita and narita for me. And you should tell Yuki and kaori that Akashi is alive and well too.” Suga softly replied, leaning his head on his shoulder. “They would like that.” 

“Who’s cooking breakfast today,” ennosita asked as he changed his shirt.

Kiyoko stood still, trying to remember. “Hinata.” 

All four of them groaned. Kiyoko giggled at their expression. 

“He’s worse than Tanaka,” Suga muttered.. 

Daichi was about to say something but shouting and commotion from downstairs interrupted him.  
“Those kids are all the same,” he mumbled, as he got up.  
“Meeting dismissed,” Daichi said as he went towards the door. He left the rest of them in ennosita’s room, probably going down to scold the kids for being so loud. 

Asahi sighed, not wanting to start the full day ahead. Suga agreed with him, laying on the ground, spreading his arms and legs out in defeat. 

Ennosita finished changing and he laughed at the sight of the older two being lazy. 

“Shoo! Get out of my room, you old men!” he teased. 

Both of them groaned. 

“Kiyoko, help me!” He said, grabbing asahi by the foot. The giant protested, but he let ennosita have fun. 

Kiyoko laughed with him, and reached for Suga, who rolled to the side to avoid her. He stuck his tounge at her.  
“You’re just as childish as the rest of them,” she exclaimed, reaching for him.  
“Am not!” Suga shouted as he rolled again. He was too close to the door.

Kiyoko just shook her head and half sighed, half laughed. 

“Oww!” Suga exclaimed. 

Daichi had burst into the room, and the door had slammed hard on suga’s head. 

“Sorry suga,” dachi said quickly, not even looking at him. 

Kiyoko and Ennosita stared at him with arched eyebrows, wondering why he had ran up the stairs. Daichi rarely ran up the stairs. 

“Forget hinata cooking breakfast. Asahi, Kiyoko, ennosita … Suga… we're gonna cook a feast for lunch!” 

Kageyama let the arrow fly, and it hit the makeshift target above him.  
Pulling out another, he started to run, and rolled his body on the ground using the momentum.  
Getting up just as fast , he pulled the string, and the arrow shot off to the left, towards the ground instead of the target he aimed for.  
“Damn it,” Kageyama muttered.  
He had been trying the move for awhile, but failed each time.  
He walked to pick up the arrow. 

Around him, multiple handmade targets hanging in different heights and sizes had multiple arrows sticking out. Sighing, Kageyama sat down next to the tree, savoring the shade it provided from the blazing morning sun.

Sugawara once told him that fukurodani had made the makeshift targets themselves, and used them to practice their aim and skill, often inviting karasuno with them. Sugawara and daichi said they used to come to the clearing every other day to have fun and practice with their owl friends, but they haven’t been in a year since nekoma disappeared. 

Kageyama had asked if he could come here to practice, and daichi gave him permission the other night. However, the older did warn him not to hunt on the other side of the forest. When Kageyama asked why, he explained that there was an unspoken agreement that the karasuno members wouldn’t hunt in their friends’ home, saying that it would be stealing. 

Kageyama snorted at the thought, after the leader had left. He never understood the bond karasuno had with nekoma and fukurodani, back in aobajoshi it was kill or be killed, no time to make friends. He flinched, remembering how kyotani had shot narita in the head, with no mercy at all. 

He had been practicing since dawn, and it was already morning. As his stomach growled in hunger, he got up to receive the rest of his arrows from the targets. Kageyama knew that the rest of karasuno tended to have their breakfast late, as several members - particularly sugawara and yamaguchi - liked to sleep in. 

As he grabbed the last of his arrows, he wondered who was going to cook breakfast. In his mind, it also dawned on him that today was family day. Something that karasuno had every two weeks, gathering the whole family together. It was also the third month, which probably meant that the members were gonna visit the graves.  
Kageyama sighed, not wanting to think of participating in the family activities. He walked up to the tree he sat by, thinking if he should stay here longer.

Then he saw it. A crack of a twig nearby signaled the animal, confirming Kageyama’s instinct. He quickly let the arrow he was holding fly, hitting his mark, the long limb of a leg.. The deer limped into the clearing, and Kageyama’s eyes widened. It was huge, and it would feed the family for days. 

Ignoring Daichi’s words from earlier, he shot three more arrows at the head, swiftly ending the deer’s life.

For awhile, it was silent at the clearing, except for his own breathing. Then another sound came from the forest. Kageyama could tell that it wasn’t an animal. He had heard footsteps, too heavy for a deer or a squirrel. 

He spun around, his arrow in hand, the string of the bow already pulled back. Kageyama didn’t aim properly as he had shot on instinct, and the arrow flew over the human’s head as they ducked.

“You’re not Daichi san….” the voice said, scared. 

Kageyama docked another arrow to his bow, but didn’t pull the string. 

“No I’m not,” Kageyama replied, not letting his voice falter. 

The other boy, who looked about his own age, hid behind a tree. The curly black hair and large blue eyes were unfamiliar to him, but Kageyama held back his weapon and his urge to attack. This boy knew Daichi, and was in fukurodani’s old territory, he couldn’t just attack with no reason. It would only hurt karasuno.

Kageyama thought of something to say, finally deciding on the most obvious question he could think of. His voice came out rough and blunt.

“Are you part of fukurodani?” 

The boy’s eyes grew wider.  
“N-n-no..”  
then he grew more confidence.  
“You’re not part of them either. What are you doing in their territory?” 

Kageyama debated on his answer, whether or not to declare that he was part of karasuno. 

“I’ve been following the deer this whole morning, it’s mine..” the boy broke the silence. 

Kageyama narrowed his eyes.  
“You couldn’t even kill it. It’s mine now,” he snarled. 

“Just please don’t kill me!” The boy wailed. Kageyama took a step back in surprise. He lowered his bow, but still kept the arrow in his hand. 

“I’ll let you have it , take all of it, just don’t kill me!”

“I’m not gonna kill you,” Kageyama snorted as he bent over to pull his arrows from the deer. The worst part of hunting. Blood gushed and felt warm on his hands. It was disgusting. 

“You have Daichi san’s bow. Are you part of karasuno?”  
The boy was still hiding behind the tree. 

Kageyama grunted in reply. He knew that most of the family accepted him as their own for two past years, even tsukishima whom he constantly butted heads with. He was grateful for them, grateful hinata, but he always had the small feeling of guilt and unacceptance from himself. 

“I’m Chigaya Eikichi.”

Kageyama didn’t say his own name. After all it was quite infamous throughout the area. The boy who betrayed aobajoshi.

“It was nice meeting you, Chigaya, but karasuno are waiting for their food. If you’ll excuse me,” he replied, dragging the huge deer over his shoulders. 

“Say hi to Daichi san for me. Tell him all of us are doing well.” The other boy gave him a shy smile, before going back into the other side of the forest. 

Us? There were more humans? More than the 7 groups that lived? 

“Wait!” Kageyama shouted after him.  
The boy stopped. He turned around, facing him.

“Do you know fukurodani?”

“They saved us when we had nothing left. And yet… yet we couldn’t do anything for them… when….”  
Chigaya softly said, lowering his head. 

“Akashi san is alive.”

Kageyama couldn’t believe his own voice, telling the boy whom he had just met crucial information. 

The boy stared at him, in disbelief. 

“What are you talking about? They were massacred - we, no, I saw them getting- dying-“ 

“Akashi san is staying at our base. He was injured when we found him a few days ago.” 

Kageyama’s voice was firm, but inside of his head, he was calling himself an idiot.

Chigaya’s hands shook as he processed the news. 

“W-well… tell him that terushima and the rest of us are fine, then.”

It was Kageyama’s turn to be surprised, although it wasn’t shocking that terushima was alive. The rumors of two bodies gone from the pile of dead bodies that belonged to johzenji members were true after all.  
He wondered if Daichi had knew this all along. 

Kageyama nodded, and the boy nodded back, and he left him, without saying another word.

And just like that, it was quiet again, with few birds chirping in the distance. 

Kageyama turned to go, half holding, half dragging the huge deer. The trees blended together as he entered the forest. Although he never noticed before, as he rarely came to fukurodani’s forest, he saw more targets hanging from trees at different angles, blending with the surroundings. He took note of it, to practice with these too, the next time he came.

As Kageyama headed towards the karasuno border that was practically unused anymore, he heard familiar voices that could only belong to two certain people.  
He ducked, and ,crouched down using the large trees for cover, not wanting to be caught and scolded for hunting on fukurodani grounds. 

Although Nishinoya and Tanaka were…. not the smartest to say, or as strict as Daichi, they were still older than Kageyama, and he still held a sense of respect towards them. 

Tanaka laughed at something Nishinoya said, his voice close.  
Their footsteps stopped nearby, probably at the white border mark.

“The forest sure bring a lot of memories,” Nishinoya commented.  
“ the target practice clearing is nearby…. where I almost shot Bokuto san in the head,” he chucked. “Right, Ryu?” 

Tanaka was oddly quiet.  
“Don’t you think it’s weird that Akashi was at the dumpster, not at the treehouses or the third gym?” He asked.

Kageyama could practically hear tsukishima’s jeer in his head. Tanaka using his brain for once? I thought he didn’t have one! 

Kageyama waited for nishinoya’s response. 

Nishinoya’s voice was doubtful.  
“They’ve been gone for two years, Ryu. We checked the whole forest, their treehouse, even their gym multiple times since then. Of course they would appear somewhere where we weren’t expecting. It is a bit weird though, like why….” 

“Like why would he appear with out of no where after all this time?” Tanaka finished his thought. “Why was he with kenma? Why only them? Where are the others?” 

Kageyama wondered too. He thought shiratoriwaza had killed them all. 

“I don’t know,” Nishinoya replied. “And to be honest, I don’t want to know.” 

“Ehh?? You don’t care about what happened to our friends?” Tanaka raised his voice. 

Kageyama flinched at the sudden burst of anger. Why would Tanaka care so much about their friends?

“Of course I care about them,” Nishinoya calmly replied.  
“It’s just that… I don’t want this peace to end. We haven’t had peace and steadiness like this since years, no deaths, no fights, I don’t want to loose of what and who I have anymore.” 

Then he suddenly laughed, slapping Tanaka’s back.  
“ I shouldn’t be talking, I literally stole from the great shiratoriwaza!” 

Tanaka hummed his agreement. “But you did it for us, for yachi.” 

“I would do anything for you guys. I didn’t mean what I said earlier. I would do anything for my friends, fukurodani and nekoma, even if it means loosing the peaceful time. Loosing friends whom you spent great times with are worse. I’m so glad Kageyama and shoyo brought back Akashi and kenma!”

Nishinoya really is a great person, Kageyama thought. He was a person who did everything he could for his family and friends, and that was what Kageyama respected the most of the shorter but older boy. In a way, he was sort of like Iwaizumi, whom Kageyama also greatly respected, but the karasuno boy was way more cheerful and outgoing… and just….. more happy in life. 

Although Kageyama hasn’t been called by his first name since coming to karasuno, hinata told him that Nishinoya called almost everyone by their first names, with the exception of sugawara. When he asked why, as calling people by first names weren’t common anymore, hinata replied that Nishinoya didn’t want anyone to forget their first names, therefore calls them by it. 

“Kageyama is part of our family too, he should come to the gym with us.“ 

He snapped back to attention at the mention of his name. 

“I really like Kageyama!” Tanaka said. “That boy is great, he’s skilled at almost anything, although he doesn’t have common sense sometimes.” 

Kageyama felt his breathing quicken. 

“I agree.” Nishinoya said, ignoring the last comment.  
“He doesn’t really talk to any of us, except for shoyo and suga. He always adds san after addressing us, even though we’ve brought him in our family for almost a year now. But he’s a great kid, with a good heart. He did the right thing when the rest of aobajoshi didn’t. Heck, he even brought back Akashi, even though he probably never known him. I just wish that he would depend on us more, instead of doing stuff alone. I hope that he knows that the rest of us really do think of him as part of our family…..” 

“Aww noya is so soft,” Tanaka teased, laughing. 

Kageyama blinked. Did Nishinoya really meant what he had said?

Nishinoya laughed.  
“Let’s get going. Theres obviously nothing here!. Patrols make me hungry.! Who’s cooking today?” 

“Hinata!” Tanaka guffawed.  
Nishinoya groaned, and their footsteps and voices soon disappeared. 

Kageyama waited a few more seconds, and dragged the deer along, left to his thoughts, mostly of not letting hinata cook the deer he killed. But somewhere deep in his mind, he made a decision to actually try to be happy with the family as they spend their day together today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this longer chapter  
> Comments and kudos are appreciated


	8. A feast, and a memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is super long compared to the others , and introduces of what happened in the past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I though I would like a chapter just filled with family and happiness before I start killing people soon lol.

Yamaguchi rolled over on his bed, reaching for tsukishima. The tall blonde wasn’t there.  
Groaning, he opened his eyes. He Heard loud commotion downstairs, but that was normal in the karasuno household. 

Yamaguchi stayed in bed for a few minutes, as sleep hadn’t completely left. He could hear yelling through the left wall. Yamaguchi frowned. Now that was not normal. Ennosita was usually quiet, and he wondered why yelling would come from his side of the room. 

Sighing, he went back to sleep. It was a habit, and normally tsukki would wake him before breakfast anyways. 

The next time he woke, tsukishima wasn’t there either. Yamaguchi groaned, and he got out of bed, opening the window. Judging from the how high the sun was, it was probably already noon. 

Yamaguchi frowned as he changed his clothes to start the day. Tsukishima would always wake him before breakfast, but the taller blonde wasn’t in the room at all. As if in answer the door opened, and the said boy came in. 

“Good you’re up,” he greeted Yamaguchi. “Lunch is in a few minutes.” 

“Why didn’t you wake me up at breakfast, tsukki?” Yamaguchi scolded as he finished changing. “I’m hungry!” 

Tsukishima snorted. “Go downstairs and see for yourself.” 

Yamaguchi tilted his head at the reply, but tsukishima didn’t say anything else. 

He gave the boy a shrug, and both of them walked out into the hallway. 

Yamaguchi smelled it, before he saw it.  
“That smells so good!” He squealed, looking at tsukishima. The boy just gave him a small smile. 

If tsukki out of all people were smiling, it was bound to be good. 

He ran down the stairs, almost bumping into yachi. 

“Yachi!!!!!!” Yamaguchi reached out to hug her, but he felt someone grab him from behind. 

“She’s still weak, don’t break her,” ennosita chided as he let go of him. 

“Ah sorry,” yamaguchi giggled. 

“I’m happy to see you too yamaguchi!!” Yachi said happily. She hugged him gently. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said softly, petting her blond hair.

Yachi let go of him way too soon.  
“Let’s go eat,” she said, walking to the table. 

Yamaguchi’s eyes widened at what was on the table, and he could feel tsukki literally pushing his rigid body to his seat. 

“ a deer?” He asked while sitting down in disbelief. 

“I know right!” Nishinoya practically screamed in joy. “We haven’t eaten one since forever!” 

They hadn’t had deer.. since… yamaguchi tried to remember. Since… since they went over to visit fukurodani at their treehouse together with nekoma. It was one of the better days, when all of them had gathered together for a huge feast and fun. 

Yamaguchi blinked the memories away as he saw Daichi smack Tanaka in the head for trying to grab a piece of the meat. 

“Who….” 

“The king,” tsukishima answered, tilting his head the dark haired boy who was talking to hinata. 

Yamaguchi reminded himself to say thank you to Kageyama. 

Daichi cleared his throat, getting everyone’s attention while kiyoko and suga began cutting and serving the meat onto plates. 

“Today is a family day, a day where we spend time together as a family. I’m not gonna do the usual speech since I can see that all of you are clearly hungry…” the leader glanced at Tanaka and Nishinoya who were practically drooling, and even Tsukishima was fighting the urge to dig in. 

“But I want to say something. First of all, our fukurodani friend, Akashi, is finally awake. His leg is healing nicely, thanks to suga and kiyoko. We can start visiting him, but please don’t pressure him to say anything he doesn’t want to. He had already told suga what had happened, so I don’t want any questions to be asked. Understood?” 

Everyone nodded or replied, but the words had practically flown over their heads as they were all staring hungrily at the meat. 

Daichi sighed and continued. 

“Also, our family member yachi is now well enough to join us for meals again! We are celebrating today!” 

Nishinoya and Tanaka, ever the mood makers, gave loud whoops that everyone echoed. Yachi herself laughed and smiled happily, thankful to be with her family members again. 

After they quieted down, Daichi said his last words. “Kageyama hunted this deer for us, so don’t forget to thank him later. After we eat, we’re going to visit the third gym, so be ready when I call to leave. Enough being said, let’s dig in!!”

“Thank you for the food!!!,” they all yelled in unison, before they dug in.

One would have thought they haven’t eaten in days. Tanaka and Nishinoya had their mouths puffing out, meat sticking out as they chewed and talked. Kageyama and Hinata were subconsciously racing each other to see who could eat the most, and suga was yelling at them to slow down as he himself tore meat off from a bone. Tsukishima was slowly chewing, but even his mouth was full. Daichi and Ennosita had to make sure no one was choking before digging in themselves, while kiyoko and yachi talked happily as they laughed, eating their meat in small pieces.

As yamaguchi stuffed his mouth with the meat, he realized that Asahi wasn’t at the table. 

“Amphi nt whe” he tried to say with his mouth full. 

“Shut up, yamaguchi,” tsukishima said before eating another piece of meat. 

Just then, asahi waltzed out of their so called kitchen, with two trays filled with cups for everyone.

“ sorry I took so long! suga and I prepared something, but he ran out of the kitchen leaving me alone!” He said, handing out the cups. 

Suga rolled his eyes, as he licked his lips, swallowing the food in his mouth. He got up to help asahi. 

“Berry juice!!!!” Yamaguchi, hinata and yachi yelled happily. 

It was rare, but when suga was in a good mood, he would squeeze berries they gathered to make a juice that was a treat for the younger kids who loved the sweet taste. Asahi sometimes added some sugar that they rarely used behind suga’s back, to add even more sweetness. 

As Asahi gave him his cup, he winked, probably meaning more sugar than usual. 

Yamaguchi happily reached for his cup, letting the sweet taste overwhelm his mouth as he drank. 

All around him, his family members happily laughed as they ate, and yamaguchi was thankful for his home. He slowly chewed another piece of meat, closing his eyes and savoring the flavor and texture. 

I never want this happiness with them to end. 

Akashi stared at the plate that had chunks of meat. Then he lifted his head to see eleven pairs of eyes staring back at him. 

“Thank you,” he shyly said. As if his voice was a trigger, all of them started talking at once. 

“Akashi saying thank you?”  
“I missed him!!!”  
“I’m so hwappy he’s alive waaaaa!!”  
“I m hwappy too!!!!”  
“ eat well !!”  
“How’s your leg?”  
“Thank god you’re awake!” 

“Oh for god’s sake shut the fuck up and let the boy eat in peace!” Suga’s voice shouted over them. 

Akashi laughed. He had missed this. He missed his friends being there for him, being nosy and loud. It wasn’t his family members, but this was close enough. A tear ran down his face before he knew it.

“Akashi is crying!” Hinata announced.  
At that, everyone shut up.

“Are you alright?” Suga asked gently, his shouting from earlier all but gone. “We can leave if you want.” 

“No. Don’t leave.I’m just… I’m just happy,” Akashi sniffed, as he wiped the tear away. “I missed you guys.” 

“We missed you too, Akashi,” ennosita said. Akashi scanned the faces of karasuno, searching for narita and kinnosita. 

Ennosita gently shook his head, sadness in his eyes. Akashi blinked and gave a slight nod in reply. He would have to ask hinata what happened later. 

“How’s your leg?” Yamaguchi asked shyly. 

Akashi smiled at him. Although he didn’t interact with the boy as much as the others, he had a soft spot for the kind hearted boy, who had grown quiet tall and fine, really. 

“Thanks to suga san and kiyoko san, it’s healing nicely,” he replied. 

The boy smiled back. “I’m glad you’re okay.” 

Akashi wanted to say something back at the boy, but Nishinoya and Tanaka’s shouts and wails interrupted him. 

“Agwashi!!! Iwm swoo hwappy you’re awive!!” Nishinoya wailed.  
“Iwm swoo hwappy too,” Tanaka cried. 

Akashi laughed. Honestly these two were another version of bokuto, always overreacting. His smile turned into a smirk when Daichi hit them on the head, reacting to their overreacting.  
Really, there wasn’t a quiet person in karasuno, all of them were loud and obnoxious- in a great way. 

Even tsukishima had sighed in relief when Akashi had spoke earlier. 

One by one, as they started to walk out the door,  
they all told him to get better, and he replied gratefully to everyone.

Only hinata and tsukishima stayed behind, sitting next to him as he slowly ate the meat.

As Akashi swallowed the last of his food, he reached for lev’s bracelet, putting the empty plate in its place. 

“Lev said to give this to you,” he softly said, breaking the silence. 

“Is he alive?” Hinata asked, his eyes big. 

Ah so sugawara hadn’t told them yet. 

“He was, when I escaped. I tried to get him to come with me, but the idiot refused.” Akashi softly said. 

“Escape where?” Tsukishima asked. The yellow bracelet on his wrist was quite bright and clean, unlike lev’s that was dirty and worn.

“I…” 

“ you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” tsukishima replied, his voice apologetic. One of his hands went to the wrist with the bracelet, playing with it, just like Akashi used to do when he was nervous himself.

“I already told suga san what happened. If you don’t mind…” he looked to the side, where kenma was. The boy was still unresponsive. Atleast he was still breathing.

“Of course.” 

“Akashi, you should wear Lev’s bracelet!” Hinata exclaimed, trying to break the awkwardness.

“Me? Why?” Akashi asked, turning to hinata, who was already tying the bracelet to his wrist. 

“Me and tsukki are already wearing our own! And besides Lev gave it you, and you don’t have yours with you.” 

“Mine’s at the third gym,” Akashi said, as he touched lev’s bracelet on his wrist.

“Oh, we re going down there later! We can grab your bracelet for you!” Hinata said excitedly, eyes shining brightly.

Akashi tilted his head slightly.  
“Why are you going all the way to our- my base?”  
It was a long walk, to the other side of the lake. 

Hinata stood still, glancing at tsukishima. 

It was the latter who spoke.  
“After… after shiratoriwaza left, we took the bodies of yukie, kaori and onaga to the gym, and with the help of nekoma, we buried them next the large hill next to the gym, the one that over looks the lake. Every three months, Daichi always sends out a group, or sometimes all of us, to pay respects to them.” 

“And when kinnosita and narita died last year, we buried them next to them. When I go, I always pick flowers at karoi’s meadow along the way, and I put them - Akashi are you okay?” Hinata asked, seeing that Akashi’s head was down.

Tears streamed down his face. Daichi had made sure that his family members weren’t forgotten. Akashi’s respect and love for the faithful karasuno leader grew.  
“Thank you,” he rasped. 

“Of course,” hinata replied. “Fukurodani gave us this home and the forest. We should be thanking you.” 

Akashi wiped his face,wondering when Hinata had gotten this mature. 

“What happened to kinnosita and narita?” He asked hoarsely.

Again, hinata stood silent.  
And again, tsukishima spoke. But it didn’t mean he liked explaining what had happened. 

“After one year of the ma- of what happened, aobajoshi tried to take your land away. At this point, nekoma also disappeared. We all thought that they disappeared underground, and we never found them. Aobajoshi tried to forcefully make us give the other side of the forest to them, thinking that we were weak without you guys. One of them shot narita and kinnosita, killing them. We didn’t have power to fight back, but Daichi and Suga refused to give fukurodani’s lands to them.” 

Akashi shivered, and lowered his head again, this time in guilt. Kinnosita and narita died because karasuno was defending their land. 

“One of them tried to kill me too. His name was… matsu…” hinata couldn’t remember his name, touching his own bracelet.

“Matsuwaka ,” tsukishima said for him. 

“Yea, him. He tried to kill me, but then Kageyama stopped him. He was trying to stop the whole fight. But matsuwaka wouldn’t stop. He tried to shoot at me again, and Kageyama pushed him and grabbed his gun. The bullet hit matsuwaka instead, and it killed him instead of me.” Hinata almost whispered the last words. Akashi held his hand and squeezed it. 

“At that Oikawa and the rest of Sejoh were furious, and they retreated. Kageyama ran away.  
A few days later, hinata found him near the border where we had the fight. He brought him back, and Daichi and Suga let him stay with us ever since.” 

“Kageyama helped me bring you here,” hinata added.

Akashi nodded, remembering how the boy had ran in the forest with him half unconscious on his back.  
“Thank him for me.” 

Hinata nodded back.  
“Do you… you want me to say anything to Yukie and kaori when I visit them today?” He asked softly, gently squeezing Akashi’s hand. 

Akashi’s eyes grew wide. Really, when did hinata get this mature? The young boy who had followed him everywhere was still there, although something about him changed. He had grown into a mature person. 

“Tell them that I will visit them when I’m better. And tell them bokuto and konoha are still alive, and that Daichi san and I will do anything to get them back.”  
Hinata nodded at his reply. 

“And also tell kinnosita kun and narita kun that I wish that they were here. Tell them that I hope that they and onaga and saruki and and shibayama are all together, watching over me and the rest of us…” Akashi sniffed, thinking of his friends and family members who died, and the ones that were still suffering. 

“I’m sure they are watching over us,” tsukishima said softly. He placed his hand on top of theirs. 

The bracelets on their wrists, orange, yellow, and green, reminded him of the wild flowers that grew on the hill around their graves.

“Yea, I’m sure they are,” Akashi whispered, staring at the bracelets.  
They stayed like that for abit, giving a moment of silence to their family members.

Akashi spoke again, trying to keep his voice steady. He let go of their hands, putting his arm on his lap. “If you go inside the gym, you know the large stage?” 

“The one that I pushed kenma and yaku off of?” Hinata giggled. 

Akashi smiled at the memory. Yaku had complained to him about it for days. Saruki had seen hinata do it, and he pushed bokuto the day after, causing a ruckus. 

“Yea that one. If you look closely to the side facing you, there’s a small latch. If you pull it, it opens up. There’s a bunch of stuff we stored inside, like extra chairs and nets. The members also put stuff there too. But as soon as you open it, there should be a stick lying on the ground. It’s bokuto’s stupid stick.” 

“The one that he always carried around like an idiot,” tsukishima scoffed. 

“You’re just upset that you got hit by it so many times!” Hinata retorted.

“Yea that one,” Akashi said,giving a small laugh at hinata’s reply. “ tied on that stick should be bokuto’s and my bracelets.” 

“Blue and purple,” hinata said. Then he frowned. “I wish we knew where kuroo’s is.” 

“Have you checked their mall?” Akashi asked, referring to their outside base. 

Most of the groups had a base, where they would live most of the time, and a hideout, where they would stay short periods of time.

For example, fukurodani’s gym was their base and the treehouses were a fun hideout for everyone(until shiratoriwaza had attacked). 

But in nekoma’s case, they had 2 bases, one underground, and one on the street that karasuno had given them, the one that they had “shared” with fukurodani. No one really went down underground anymore, but the nekoma members said that the entrance to the underground maze they called base was near the once huge mall. 

The mall was now practically bare of what it once had, having all the groups steal and take what was useful- in fact it was where karasuno, fukurodani, and nekoma got their clothes and other supplies needed for survival. 

When nekoma has disappeared, the mall was nothing but an attraction 

Tsukishima sighed. “When both of you disappeared, we searched the whole fucking forest, and the whole street for any trace. We even tried going underground, but most of the entrances, nekoma had blocked in response to shiratoriwaza. We probably would have found it by now.” 

“Maybe it’s hidden, like bokuto and Akashi’s are. Or maybe it’s underground.” Hinata said optimistically. 

“Maybe,” tsukishima mumbled in reply. 

Akashi opened his mouth to mention what had happened to the nekoma members and the possibility of the bracelet being with them, but at that moment, the door opened, with suga and daichi coming in. 

“We’re about to leave, you two should get ready,” dachi said to hinata and tsukishima. 

“Are we gonna stop by the garden and the meadow? I want to pick some apples!!” Hinata asked eagerly, jumping out of his chair. 

Daichi smiled. “Of course. We have to pick flowers for them anyway. Kageyama said he’s coming too. It’s his first time, so you’re gonna have to lead him, hinata.” 

“Yay!!” The orange hair boy yelled, running out of the room. he turned back, his head poking out of the door. 

“I’ll make sure we find bokuto’s and your bracelets!” He said cheerfully to Akashi before leaving. 

Akashi smiled. Hinata had grown mature, but he was still a kid. 

Tsukishima nodded at Akashi, and got up to leave as well. 

After they had left, suga and daichi sat down by Akashi’s bed, taking their spot. 

“Every three months we -“ 

“I know. Hinata told me. Thank you,” Akashi softly said, interrupting suga. “Thank you for not forgetting about them.” 

Suga gave him a small smile as he held his hand, eyeing the green bracelet on his wrist. “Of course. They’re our friends.” 

“Do you… do you want us to bring you back something from the gym? We left everything as it was, except for the food storage. Everything you guys had is untouched,” Daichi said, leaning on suga. 

Akashi stared at him. The leader, also known as the Dad of not just karasuno, but of all three groups, looked so firm and sure, so… so….. trustworthy and loving. It was what made him their dad. 

“Well I asked hinata and tsukishima to get my bracelets. But if you follow them to our storage, there’s something that you should take.” 

Daichi looked at him, slightly arching his eye brow at him.  
“And what’s that?” 

Akashi remembered bokuto always making fun of dachi not being able to fully arch his eyebrows. Kuroo had laughed so hard at that one, while Daichi just smacked bokuto saying that he could. 

He wished that all three of them were together again. It just felt more secure, with all three of them by his side. 

Suga gently squeezed his hand, and Akashi squeezed it back. 

“ flashlights. Working flashlights. With extra batteries. And guns.” Akashi said firmly. 

Both Suga’s and Daichi’s eyes widened. 

Electricity was rare enough in the remains of the city, and karasuno and fukurodani both barely got any, living in the forest. To think that there was a source of light other than the sun, moon, and fire, was a luxury that neither groups had in years.

Guns weren’t as rare, although shiratoriwaza had the most weaponry of all groups. Karasuno had pefered bows and arrows as well daggers over them anyways, but Daichi and suga had stored their guns on their fourth floor, unknown to to most of the members. 

“We found the flashlights at nekoma’s base, the mall. Kuroo gave them to us one day, telling bokuto to share with you guys. But bokuto, being bokuto, forgot that he left the flashlights in the storage, and I kind of forgot about ‘em too,” Akashi explained sheepishly. 

“All of us used sunlight and fire as light for years anyway, so it kinda just went forgotten. And the guns… they were bokuto’s and konoha’s. Oh and some of them are kuroo’s.”

“We don’t need them, sweetie,” suga said, tracing his thumb over his knuckles. 

Did suga just call him sweetie?  
Akashi scowled. 

Daichi nodded, agreeing. 

“We have our own guns. And like you said, we’ve been using sunlight for years. We don’t need flashligh-“

“Yes you do,” Akashi snapped, clenching Suga’s hand.  
He felt his cheeks burn at interrupting so rudely, but he was impatient. 

Daichi gave him a half arched eyebrow again. 

“For what?” He challenged in a friendly way. It wasn’t everyday someone talked back to him in such a manner. For some reason, Daichi felt like he knew what the younger boy was going to say. 

The glint in the metal blue eyes said it all. 

“You’re gonna need them when you go underground to save the rest of nekoma, and for when you kick Daishiro’s ass.” Akashi growled. 

Now that was the Akashi he remembered. 

Daichi grinned back at him.  
“It will be our pleasure to take them then.” 

Tsukishima hummed a songless tune as they walked past the last treehouse towering above their heads as the sun shone in between the trees. They were only halfway to fukurodani’s base, but the large meal they ate had put everyone in a great mood that no one was complaining.

Next to him, yamaguchi was talking with Kageyama, as his usual orange haired companion had ran ahead due to excitement. 

Kageyama actually smiled and talked with the other boy, without being awkward and stiff, and it was strange sight to tsukishima. 

Daichi, Asahi and kiyoko talked amongst themselves, often slowing down to make sure everyone was together.

Ennosita was more cheerful than usual, laughing with Nishinoya and Tanaka who were being their idiotic selves.

As they trudged the last of the path, hinata ran back to the group, obviously impatient that everyone was slower than him. 

“Let’s go!” He shouted, running back ahead.

The oldest trio sighed, wishing that they had the energy.  
Nishinoya laughed, and ran up to hinata to keep him company, leaving Tanaka and ennosita behind. 

Suddenly, without warning, tsukishima pulled out his dagger and threw it above Yamaguchi and Kageyama’s heads. It landed on the familiar camouflaged target with a twang. 

Yamaguchi flinched while Kageyama turned, with his own dagger in his hand, ready to attack. 

“Tsukki!!” Yamaguchi whined with his eyes closed.  
“How many times did I tell you to not to-“

“Shut up, yamaguchi,” tsukishima said in a flat tone as he threw another dragger up in the air. 

Again, it hit a target with twang. It echoed through the forest, scaring a flock of birds to fly.

“Nice shot, tsukishima!!” Tanaka whooped. 

Daichi gave a disapproving tsk, while kiyoko just smiled slightly. Next to them Asahi was still trying to calm down. Honestly, he was even worse than yamaguchi and yachi combined when it came to sudden movements and jump scares. 

“Sorry, Kageyama,” ennosita apologized, with a small laugh. “Fukurodani hid a bunch of these targets around the forest, and we’ve been practicing with these for years. Tsukishima likes to throw at them with no warning.” 

Kageyama nodded, putting his dagger away.  
He gave tsukishima a glare. 

Tsukishima just sneered back before jumping to grab his dagger on the high target. 

He walked up to yamaguchi who gave him the other dagger. 

Suddenly something whooshed past him, missing his ear by a few inches. 

Tsukishima didn’t even flinch as Kageyama’s dagger landed on the target behind him.

He gave the dark haired boy an arched eyebrow. It was hard to see the camouflaged targets, and the fact that Kageyama had seen and hit it with accuracy despite not training with them for years like he did was quite impressive. Not that, tsukishima would ever admit that.

“Nice aim,” he said, with a shrug, before starting to walk again. 

Kageyama grabbed his shoulder.  
Tsukishima turned back with an angry scowl, as he wasn’t in the mood to fight and break the peace. 

To his surprise, Kageyama was hunched over. He was bowing at him. 

“Please teach me how to aim better!” Kageyama said in a loud clear voice. 

Ahead of them, Ennosita and Tanaka’s conversation stopped, while Daichi looked back. 

“Pft. Ask normally,” tsukishima laughed.  
“You’re part of our family now, why are you acting so formal?” 

Kageyama got up, looking at tsukishima with respect. 

“I -“ 

“Really, king, are you that stupid? Family members don’t ask for favors like that. You have to remember, you’re not a king anymore. Not a lone one anyway.” 

Kageyama blinked. He knew what tsukishima was saying underneath the jeers. 

“ and besides you’re already naturally talented. You just need to focus a little bit. It’s abit different from arrows. You don’t pull the force back, you push the force forward.”

Tsukishima turned, raising one hand at him.  
“I’ll help you, but you’re already good enough.” 

With that, he jogged up to kiyoko and asahi who were already far ahead without turning back, leaving Kageyama stuttering his thanks. 

Hinata jumped with joy at finally arriving at the large meadow. He hurled himself at his Apple tree, climbing up to his favorite branch. 

Apples fell down to the ground from hinata’s impact, but Nishinoya grabbed a few with his hands. He bit into one, savoring the sweet flavor as he leaned on the tree, enjoying the peace.

Above him, hinata was perched on a large branch, the boy already eating his own apple. 

Hinata marveled at the view that he would never get tired of. Kaori’s meadow stretched on all the way to the lake, the multicolored flowers gently dancing with the lofty breeze. Some of the flowers were native, while others, were planted by kaori and yukie. They all blended together, and if it was a pretty sight from the ground, it was an amazing sight from on top of the tree.

Hinata threw the core of his finished apple on the ground, and grabbed another on next to him.  
He hummed the melody of yaku’s lullaby as he remembered how he had planted the tree. 

He was only seven, and back then the zombies still existed. Hinata remember that he was lost in the large city, and he was crying for suga and ukai, when Aone found him next to an abandoned building

Aone, back then ten years old, had stayed with hinata the next few days, sharing the little food he had. Luckily, the zombies weren’t near them at all.the older boy didn’t say much words, not that hinata could remember, but hinata never forgot the way he took care of him, giving him food and treating his wounds, sleeping next to him to give him warmth.

On the morning of the day that suga had found him, Aone had given him 3 apples, the last of the food he had. Not long after, Suga and Daichi found hinata in the alley, hugging him out of joy, all three of them crying. By the time that hinata calmed down from seeing them, Aone was long gone. 

Suga and Daichi carried him on their shoulders all the way to the third gym where they were staying with others, not letting Go of him at all. Hinata ate 2 of the apples that day, but he saved the last apple for a week.

A few days later, He followed yukie, bokuto, and Daichi to hunt and gather food, and the four of them had found the meadow by accident. 

Hinata decided to plant the apple there, even though Daichi and bokuto had laughed, not believing that it would grow. But with the help of yukie, kaori, and kiyoko over the years, the small seedling grew into a medium sized tree that blossomed fruits. Everyone dubbed it the miracle tree, but to hinata, it was a symbol of friendship and kindness that Aone had given him. 

Hinata didn’t see him again, not until all the remaining humans had gathered together years later, in the aftermath of destroying the last of the zombies.  
But hinata never got the chance to thank him, for the gathering had rather turned violent, and it became a blur, asahi had pulled him and yamaguchi out of the crowd for safety. 

hinata never had the chance to say thank you to Aone until a few days ago, when he had jumped over the great iron wall. Even then, Aone had helped him hide. 

As Hinata finished the last of the Apple he was eating, Nishinoya shouted below, signaling the rest of the group’s arrival. Hinata stayed on the branch as he saw tsukishima, kiyoko, and Asahi walk up to the tree. 

“Catch!!” He yelled, throwing an apple to tsukishima. 

The taller boy caught the small apple with ease in one hand, and took a bite out of it, ignoring hinata. 

Kiyoko sat down at the base, enjoying the view of the meadow, and next to her Asahi jumped to grab an apple on a lower branch. 

Voices floated around as the rest of the group slowly appeared from behind. 

“Kageyama!!!!!” Hinata yelled, as he jumped down from the tree. He almost landed on Asahi, but the older boy caught him in time, muttering on how heavy he was getting. 

Hinata ignored him, and ran up to Kageyama and Yamaguchi. 

Kageyama stared at the meadow, his eyes big with wonder at the emassive land filled with flowers. 

“I know right,” yamaguchi marveled next to him.  
“This is kaori’s meadow, and over there is hinata’s apple tree. And just past that, yukie’s garden is there too, filled with berries and vegetables to eat.” 

“Did they plant all of this?” Kageyama asked as he slowly walked up to clearing, softly touching the taller plants that came up to his knees. 

Yamaguchi and Hinata followed.  
“Not all of them,” yamaguchi explained, as they went up to the small hill where the apple tree was. “But yukie and kaori spent most of their time here, and yaku and lev of nekoma dubbed it kaori’s meadow after visiting one day, and the name kinda stuck.” 

“Look at my apple tree!” Hinata exclaimed. “I planted it, and yukie and kaori helped it grow!” 

Kageyama watched as the other members of the family sat down near the tree, laughing and enjoying the apples together. It seemed so happy, and he could only imagine how it was like with the other two groups joining them. He wished that aobajoshi was like this. 

The tree itself was large, with multiple branches filled with apples, towering on the small hill, looking over the large meadow that reached the lake in the distance. 

“Have an apple! It’s one of the best tasting things after Suga’s berry juice!!” Hinata said as he placed an apple in Kageyama’s hand. 

“I have to agree with hinata on this one,” yamaguchi hummed in agreement before biting his own. 

Kageyama blinked before taking a small bite. 

“How is it?” Hinata asked, his eyes sparkling. 

He took another bite, letting the sweet but tart flavor take over as he chewed.  
Kageyama gave hinata a small nod, before finishing his apple. 

Hinata jumped up and down, and than ran up to kiyoko, grabbing one of the baskets they brought. Then he ran back to Kageyama and grabbed his wrist, dragging him along.

“Hinata what are you-“ 

“Come on Kageyama, let’s see who can pick the most flowers!” 

“Wait for me!!” Yamaguchi and Nishinoya yelled at the same time. They looked at each other, and laughed, racing down the hill to join them. 

“I wish I had their energy,” Daichi whined as he laid down on the grass. 

“Please, you and suga caused enough trouble for ukai when we were their age,” kiyoko laughed, laying down next to him. 

“ I wasn't part of it, any form or shape,” asahi mused, watching Kageyama kick hinata for taking a pile of his flowers. 

Both Daichi and Kiyoko snorted at his remark. 

“Tell me a story of when you we’re our age,” tsukishima requested, as he sat down next to Asahi. 

“I haven’t heard one in ages,” ennosita hummed behind them.

“I can’t imagine Daichi as energetic as hinata” he added, as the boy in the distance ran around the whole meadow.

Daichi laughed, as he watched Nishinoya match hinata.  
“We weren’t even in par with Nishinoya and Tanaka,” he said. 

“They didn’t have the energy, but they sure were just as dumb,” Asahi commented, his head leaning on the tree trunk. 

Kiyoko laughed. “Like the time they put bugs in ukai and nekomata’s pillows and futons.” 

Tsukishima snorted. “Suga did that?”

“Oi,” Daichi protested. “It was Kuroo’s idea-“ 

“No it wasn’t,” kiyoko and asahi said at the same time. 

“I’m one hundred percent sure it was your idea, Daichi.” Asahi laughed. 

“Suga tried to stop you two, but Kuroo threatened to blame it on him, so he had no choice to join.” Kiyoko mused. 

“God, I had never heard so much screams from ukai. Who would have thought he was scared of bugs of all things…” 

Kiyoko laughed at Asahi’s comment.  
“Only Daichi and Kuroo got punished, suga got away with it. He’s more sneakier than you think,” she finished, staring at the perfect blue sky. 

“What was the punishment?” Tsukishima asked. Everyone heard the slight jeer underneath. 

“They had to cook and eat the bugs they had used,” asahi laughed, remembering their expressions.

“Ewww!!!” ennosita exclaimed. 

“I feel like throwing up,” tsukishima whined, making exaggerated barfing noises. 

“You shouldn’t have asked,” Daichi retorted. 

“What happens if I put bugs in Daichi and suga’s bed?” Tanaka asked. 

All their heads turned to the apple tree, where the mischievous boy was smirking on top of a branch. 

“Don’t even think about it,” Daichi snarled. 

All of them laughed, happily eating apples and exchanging remarks on what would Daichi do, if he had ever found bugs in his bed. 

Finally, Nishinoya, Yamaguchi, and hinata climbed up the hill, with Kageyama right behind them, their bodies sweaty, and with bundles of flowers in the basket.

Seeing that everyone was gathered around, Daichi cleared his throat. 

“I’ve decided that we should stay the night over at the third gym. We’ll catch fish by the lake, and cook dinner there as well. Other than that, you know the rules. No touching their belongings without a reason.” He nodded to hinata and tsukishima, as they had already gotten permission by Akashi. 

“I have something to say, regarding Akashi and nekoma, but I will say it after we eat dinner and settle down. For now, let’s go to the gym before sun down,” he ordered. 

The sun was still high in the cloudless sky, but judging from how late they had eaten their feast earlier, it wouldn’t be too long before the day was over. 

All of them nodded and they all got up. 

Tanaka jumped down from the tree, with a basket full of apples.  
Hinata eagerly grabbed on from the pile, and took a bite. 

They started walking again, and yamaguchi and hinata walked side by side next to Kageyama. 

“Tell me how kaori and yukie were, when they were alive,” he said, as they walked passed yukie’s garden. Vines had grown, but there were still berries and vegetables that grew right next to them. 

“Kaori was like kiyoko, but abit more mischievous. She sometimes pulled pranks on bokuto, when he didn’t stop when she asked. But she was really motherly and she took care of everyone,” Yamaguchi remembered.

“Yukie was… she was like an older, female version of hinata.” 

Hinata laughed. “ Yea. She would always be eating and eating, and when she wasn’t, she was running around, yelling at us.” 

Yamaguchi snorted. “More like yelling at you and lev. But she also took care of us, and she was stubborn as hell...mostly because most of us younger kids weren’t listening. Having her and bokuto at the same table was like...like having ten of hinata, Tanaka and noya at once.” 

Behind them, tsukishima who was listening to their conversation, snickered. What a way to describe yukie. 

Kageyama swallowed his nervousness, and spoke softly. 

“One of the reasons why I tried to stop Oikawa and aobajoshi that day… it was because of kaori and yukie.” 

“Huh?” Hinata asked, confused.  
He started walking backwards, facing Kageyama and yamaguchi. 

“When I was nine, when the zombies were still around, I got caught in a horde of zombies, near what is now aobajoshi border to the forest. I was with Iwaizumi with that time, but I was injured, and 4 zombies surrounded me. Yukie, kaori and nekoma’s Kai were there, and while Kai and yukie killed the zombies, kaori helped me and Iwaizumi escape. She also bandaged my wounds and told me that I was going to be okay.” 

Kageyama walked a bit slower, staring at the two buildings a few hills away - fukurodani’s base - as the rest of the group started to listen in on his story as well.

“Yukie and Kai came back, and they told us that there were more zombies on the way. I remember crying, but kaori wiped my tears away, and told me and Iwaizumi to run. And we did, leaving them behind. When we were safe, Iwaizumi told me that their names were yukie, kaori, and Kai, but I should never, never say what happened to Oikawa. When I asked why, he said that Oikawa hated bokuto, who the girls were friends with. So I never told Oikawa, but I never forgot their kindness.” 

Kageyama’s hand started to shake, but he held them still. They kept walking in silence, until he broke the silence. 

“I never got a chance to thank them-“ 

“Then you can say thank you at their grave!” Hinata interrupted. 

Kageyama stopped walking, staring at him.  
The orange hair boy grabbed his arm, and started to pull him towards the last hill. The gym was on top of the hill, and the sky had started to set, but not yet completely. 

“Suga told me, when you speak to the person at their grave, their spirit hears you. I always talk to yukie and kaori when I visit them. I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear you too.” 

Kageyama blinked as he walked up the hill, practically being yanked up by hinata, who was smiling, and rambling on what he was going to say.

He felt a dejavu, and Kageyama remembered how he wondered how hinata could be so innocent when he had talked to the cat at the dumpster. As they managed to get to the top of the hill, Kageyama wished that hinata would never know the horrors of what he did when he was with aobajoshi. 

Tsukishima sat down at the peak of the hill, not too far from yukie and kaori’s graves. The stones that marked their final spots glistened as the sun began to set. Their necklaces placed on top of the stones shined the most, as hinata and Kageyama sat side by side, basking in the last of the sun. The lake in the distance shone just as bright, turning into different shades as it reflected the sky. 

A few steps next to yukie and kaori’s graves was onaga’s grave, similarly marked by a pile of stones. On top was his dagger that was on him when they had found him that day. Asahi was kneeling next to it, his back turned.

Further down this side of the hill were kinnosita and narita’s graves, marked by wood that Daichi himself engraved with his own hands. Ennosita had tied their favorite blanket to the wood, now almost like a flag as it gently flapped to the breeze. Ennosita, tanaka and Nishinoya all laid down, being quiet for once as they imagined their family members next to them. 

Tsukishima felt yamaguchi’s head on his shoulder, and he leaned his own on top, breathing in his scent. They had always been close, tsukishima looking after him as he followed him everywhere. 

But as tsukishima watched the sun slowly set to a deep red, he realized that he didn’t want yamaguchi to die, to lay his body on this hill.

He remembered kaori and yukie, how they had always took good care him when suga and daichi weren’t there.

A faint memory came across his mind, of when they were at the newly built treehouses. Tsukishima was really tired that day, after training all day with bokuto and Akashi on knife throwing. He sighed as he remembered yukie came out of the treehouse, with fresh water and fruit, telling him that he did his best. Being clumsy as she was, she tripped on the ladder and she started to fall. Tsukishima grabbed her before she got hurt and she laughed, saying that he was her prince and she was the princess. Kaori poked her head out of the window of the treehouse, asking if yukie was okay.

With a jolt, tsukishima realized that their faces were blurry. He still knew who they were, and their voices were clear in his memory, but the facial features were all blurred together. Maybe it was because of the tears that formed in his eyes that their faces weren’t visible, but tsukishima started panicking. 

He didn’t want to loose the memory of their faces. And especially, if yamaguchi died before him, he really didn’t want to forget his face either.

His breaths became uneven, and he felt yamaguchi shake him. 

“Tsukki! Tsukki! are you alright?” 

“S-s-shut up, yamaguchi,” he said as tears flowed down his face.

Yamaguchi’s hands were on his face, gently brushing the tears away. 

“It’s okay, tsukki,” he hummed.

“No it’s not,” tsukishima replied as he saw yamaguchi’s freckled face. The freckles were beautiful, and he wanted to count every single one of them. 

Then he remembered that he couldn’t remember yukie’s face.

“I… I don’t want to forget you..” he whispered, as he moved his own hands to yamaguchi’s face. His thumb traced the freckles, and the yellow bracelet on his wrist was bright against the slowly darkening sky.

Not that it mattered, because yamaguchi’s smile was the brightest thing in his world. 

“I… I almost forgot how yukie looked like. I’m scared. When you die, I don’t want to forget your face…” 

Tsukishima blinked as he felt a small slap on his cheek. He saw yamaguchi’s face serious. It didn’t really fit him. 

“But I -“

“You’re not gonna forget me, Kei.” 

Tsukishima swallowed as he heard him say his first name. 

“I’m not gonna let you. I’m gonna stay beside you forever. Even if I am gone - which I won’t be - you are going to remember me, yamaguchi tadshi. Got it?” 

Tsukishima nodded, gently brushing the tears that started to flow on yamaguchi’s face.

If yamaguchi believed that he wouldn’t forget him, tsukishima would not forget him. After all, anything Yamaguchi said, he followed.

This time, he leaned his own head on Yamaguchi’s shoulder, and they stayed like that for awhile, watching the sunset.

The sunset was lasting for a long time, tsukishima noted. The sky was still full of hues of pink orange and purple, as if nature itself didn’t want the day to end. Dragonflies lazily flew in the sky, and frogs started to croak as if they were protesting, wanting to start the nightfall.

Tsukishima got up as yamaguchi pulled him towards yukie and kaori’s graves. He had said that he didn’t believe Suga’s words of spirts hearing their words, but deep down, he did. Because it was something that would help them remember their dead friends.

“I never had the chance to thank you properly,” Kageyama was saying as they approached the graves. 

“I want to say thank you for saving me and Iwaizumi san that day. I know that Oikawa is a bastard, and I tried my best to stop him, but I also hope you can forgive him. It was because aobajoshi didn’t have enough resources for food…..” Kageyama trailed off, clenching his fist. 

Tsukishima and yamaguchi exchanged glances. Kageyama rarely talked about aobajoshi. 

“I visited your meadow and garden today, and it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever saw. I picked some flowers for you, and hinata says daisys are your favorite, so here you go. I hope that you are happy, now. I’ve never met you since that day, but I will do my best living my life just as you guys did.”

Kageyama took a step back, his head down. 

“I’m going to go help Daichi san get ready for our stay.”

With that, he walked towards the gym. 

Hinata tried to follow, but yamaguchi shook his head. 

Tsukishima walked to where Kageyama was standing earlier, and stared at the two necklaces that had a simple jewel on each, given to them by Kuroo. 

As long as he could remember, they never took it off. He knew that kiyoko had one as well, but he hadn’t seen it on her since the day shiratoriwaza came, since the day that yukie, kaori, and onaga died. 

Tsukishima spoke softly, of how he missed them, and that he would do his best to take care of Akashi.

The wind blew softly around him, and for some reason he felt like he could feel Yuki and kaori’s presence around him. Maybe suga was right all along. Maybe they did hear what he said. Tsukishima smiled. Hinata who stood next to him moved slightly. 

“Yukippie! Kaoririe!” He loudly said. 

Tsukishima felt something in his throat as he remembered the nicknames. He felt yamaguchi squeeze his hand, and he squeezed it back. 

“Akashi came back. Kageyama- the guy who was here earlier- and I found him and kenma really hurt. But thanks to suga and kiyoko, Akashi is a lot better now. Kenma hasn’t woken up yet, but when he does, I’ll make sure to bring both of them here. You guys probably missed them right?” 

Tsukishima noticed that there were tears brimming on hinata’s eyes. 

“Akashi said that bokuto and kuroo and lev are still alive, and he said that him and daichi are gonna do their best to save them.” 

The wind gently breezed past them.

“My apple tree is growing really nicely and and I think it misses you guys a lot. But I promise that I’ll take good care of it. I miss you guys too. We all do. But until I die and see you again, you’ll be watching over me right? I’ll make sure that I’ll grow up big and strong like Daichi and bokuto and kuroo. I’ll be just as great as them, so you have to watch over me, okay?”  
Hinata was shaking, but his feet were firm. 

Yamaguchi stood in between them, and held both of their hands. 

“Me too. All three of us are gonna be great because you guys took good care of us. So watch over us. We miss you,” yamaguchi said. 

Tsukishima didn’t say anything, but he felt the wind embrace them. For a second, he could have sworn he heard yukie’s laugh and kaori’s soothing voice whispering around them. He blinked his tears away, as the last of the sun rays dimmed. 

The three of them stood at the two graves for awhile, before they heard Nishinoya voice, slightly teasing them. 

“Oi, kinnosita and narita are gonna be upset that you didn’t visit them,” he said, putting his hand on hinata’s shoulder.

All three of them turned, not realizing how much time had passed. 

The waning moon shone across the lake, and the stars dimly lit the sky. 

Yamaguchi let go of their hands, and cheekily yelled, “last one to their graves are their least favorites!” Before running down the hill.  
Hinata huffed, sprinting beside him, yelling how much kinnosita and narita had loved him, and tsukishima slowly followed, enjoying the night view of the lake.

When they had reached the hill, Daichi went inside the gym, letting the younger kids pay their respects first. He took off his shoes at the entrance, and grabbed slippers from the familiar, now dusty shelf. The shelf itself held over 30 pairs of slippers and “ball” shoes, all mostly stolen from nekoma’s mall. 

Daichi walked around the empty gym, reminiscing his memories he had with his friends. His footsteps echoed as he walked around. Everywhere he looked, he could see imaginary replacements of his friends.

Konoha and Akashi appeared, tossing and hitting a volleyball, towards Komi who received it with ease.

The worst was yukie and kaori, sitting on the edge of the stage, eating fruit together, their legs gently swinging as bokuto tried to steal the fruit. They looked so happy, and Daichi’s heart hurt knowing that their graves were just outside.

The image of them disappeared from his mind as he heard another pair of footsteps.

Kiyoko walked up to him, just as deep in memories as he was. 

“Let’s clean the floor first,” he softly said. 

She nodded back, and both of them walked to the storage closet that held mops and brooms. 

Asahi came in as well, his feet and ankles wet. He held 4 buckets, 2 in each hand. 

“That was fast,” kiyoko commented, her voice echoing. 

“Yea, konoha’s old trap still works. I caught 10 medium size fish in one go.” Asahi said as he walked up to them barefoot. 

2 of the buckets had fish, while the other two were brimmed with just water.

Daichi dunked the mop he was holding onto a bucket. 

“Kiyoko, help me clean the floors. Asahi, can you start a fire and cook?” 

Asahi and kiyoko both nodded. As the oldest of the group, they were used to the orders that Daichi gave them, and always did them with no complaints. 

Kiyoko grabbed his mop.  
“You should take a rest. Go prepare the futons. I’ll wipe the floor.” 

“The floor is large-“ 

Kiyoko gave him a glare. 

Daichi sighed, giving in. He could never beat kiyoko’s or Suga’s - do as I say before I whack your ass like a mother- look. And to think he was the one who lead their family. 

He gave a nod to Asahi -who was smirking - and to kiyoko, walking up the stairs.

Fukurodani always had extra futons in the gym, always expecting their crow and cat friends to comeby any day. 

Daichi opened the door at end of the long hallway of the second floor, and went inside as it creaked behind him. 

The room was filled with decorations of paper and drawings around the walls, and daichi smiled. 

Most of them were doodles or notes over the years, or really bad drawings -Nishinoya’s and Yaku’s - but together they put a nice vibe around the small room. 

He walked up to his favorite one, drawn by kenma

The boy was really an artist compared to everyone in the group, and he was always in charge of drawing their maps. But kenma was really talented in drawing people as well.

Daichi touched the faded paper, tracing the outlines of a hinata and lev smiling. Below them, face down, was Kuroo, with a bokuto sitting on top. 

Next to that drawing was one of suga and yuku, both of their faces angry, also drawn by kenma. The note on the bottom always made Daichi laugh.  
-the moms are angry, what did Hinata and Lev do this time?

Daichi forced himself to turn away, and opened the cabinet, sneezing at the dust. Luckily, the futons and blankets themselves didn’t have much dust, and he grabbed ten of them. 

Daichi sighed realizing that he would have to take two trips to bring all of them down. 

He looked around the room, and saw yukie’s favorite dress on the table. 

He walked up to it, gently touching the dress that yukie often wore. It was soft, and the yellow fabric in his hands reminded him of her once bright personality. 

Just as he folded it to put it back, Kageyama came from the door. 

“Kiyoko san sent me up here to see why you were taking so long,” he said, staying at the door.  
The boy glanced around the room, looking at the different drawings. 

“ help me bring these down,” Daichi said. “Put them on the stage for now.” 

Kageyama nodded, slightly coming inside as Daichi handed him five futons. 

As the boy went back out into the hallway, a futon caused a piece of paper to fall. 

Daichi caught it before it landed. 

It was a drawing of kenma, and lev, drawn by Akashi. It wasn’t as detailed or proper like kenma’s but it was still a great drawing. Daichi folded the paper and put it in his pocket, deciding to give it to Akashi. 

Before he left, he looked at one more piece of paper, on the back of the door. It was also drawn by kenma, although it had Akashi and suga’s doodles off to the side. 

A drawing of Kuroo, bokuto, and Daichi, all laughing. 

On the bottom, kenma wrote a simple note.  
-to my idiots, but the best fathers any of us can ask for. 

Daichi smiled, as he gently closed the door, carrying the futons. 

By the time he made his way downstairs, kiyoko had finished mopping. 

Daichi laid the futons and blankets on the floor one by one, and Kageyama did the same with the ones he carried. 

He went to the storage closet, grabbing pillows on the top shelf. He sneezed again. 

Kiyoko laughed.  
“Remember, when you sneeze -“ 

“Someone is thinking about me,” Daichi finished. But he shrugged as he got rid of the dust on the pillows he was holding. 

“But this time, I really do think it’s from the dust.” 

“Maybe,” kiyoko mused as she grabbed more pillows.

With Kageyama’s help, they managed to set up a small area for them to stay the night. 

When they finished, they walked back outside. 

Asahi had already started a fire at the familiar area, where fukurodani had often cooked their meals with nekoma and karasuno. He stirred the pot that he probably got from the other building. 

Daichi and kiyoko walked up to him,checking up on how the food was doing.  
Asahi nodded to them. 

“It’s almost done,” he said, as he added some vegetables that kiyoko had picked from the garden. 

Kiyoko went to gather everyone, and daichi sat down the log that he and bokuto had cut down themselves years ago. 

Again he imagined his friends around him- bokuto going up to the pot, Akashi right behind him. Saruki and Komi coming out of the gym, while wahiro and konoha came up the hill. 

The image of them vanished as Daichi’s own family came up. 

“Noya, hinata help hand out plates and forks,” Daichi ordered, seeing that they were huddled over at Asahi. 

Both of them sighed but they grabbed the utensils that Asahi found in fukurodani’s kitchen. 

One by one all of them sat on the logs, and asahi began severing them cooked fish with steamed apples. 

All of them looked at Daichi, wondering what he had to say. 

“I’ll say something important as we finish dinner, but for now, let’s dig in. We came all this way, and I’m sure everyone is hungry.” 

“Thank you for the food,” they all said, before eating. 

They started to eat, talking to each other in small groups, as the fire in the middle burned brightly. 

Daichi sighed, before chewing a piece of fish. He wondered how to explain that nekoma was alive.. how the terror group existed and survived. He wished that suga was here with him. 

Next to him, Ennosita ate quietly, in his own thoughts. Asahi sat down on the other end, watching hinata throw a piece of fish in the air, and Nishinoya catching it in his mouth, Tanaka and yamaguchi giggling. Kageyama and tsukishima were talking to each other without fighting which was a rare sight.

As Daichi looked at them, he tried to think.  
He never wanted to kill anyone, nor did he want to let anyone kill his family. 

Like dateko, he was usually neutral when it came to fighting over grounds, as long as he and his family had enough. But his decision to keep fukurodani’s Territory cost kinnosita and narita’s lives. Now he was about to ask them to go down underground, not knowing if their friends were even alive or not. 

Daichi forced himself to swallow the piece of fish in his mouth. He took another bite, chewing the flesh. He always had hated fish, although he never complained. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and Daichi looked up to see kiyoko. 

“You got this dai dai,” she said softly. 

Daichi scoffed, trying to act like he wasn’t nervous at all.  
“ of course I do.” 

She nodded, before walking to the pot to get more food. As she came back and sat down, Daichi cleared his throat, standing up with his arms crossed.

If Kuroo was there, he probably would have laughed at how ridiculous he probably looked. 

Everyone stopped what they were doing, although hinata stuffed another piece of fish in his mouth. 

Daichi cracked a smile at how serious they were. 

“You know you can still eat while I talk,” he huffed in slight amusement. He relaxed, seeing Nishinoya and hinata continuing to eat.

“Before I tell you what happened to Akashi and Kenma, I’m going to tell you a story. Listen closely.” 

Daichi swallowed his nervousness. He hated to bring up the past,but he had to.

“Before the 7 groups that formed, it was one group of humans that killed zombies. They were ruthless, killing zombies and humans alike. People in the group were called Aces. Many people you may know were affiliated with this group. For example, Ushijima, Oikawa, terushima…. and even bokuto.” 

Daichi looked at them, expecting a reaction.  
Tanaka,Nishinoya and Hinata stared at him with big wide eyes,

Yamaguchi looked scared, and he leaned towards tsukishima who blinked. The blonde started to speak. 

“Bokuto san is a good person. I’m sure he had his reasons-“ 

“And me. I was in the group as well..”  
Again, Daichi stared at them, watching them react. 

“You?”  
“What?”  
“D-d-did you kill people?”  
“This is the past…”  
“I’m sure you had reasons…” 

Only Kageyama stood silent, staring right back at Daichi, with curiosity. 

The flames of the fire danced, and an ember flew up into the calm sky as they all waited for Daichi to speak again. 

“I left the group early with Ukai, and together with nekomata san we sort of already formed a mini karasuno, nekoma, and fukurodani, although we weren’t named yet. We lived right here, right in this gym,away from the zombies.”

“Bokuto…. bokuto stayed with the group for awhile, killing zombies. He did his best not to kill people to survive. One day, he found Akashi. One of his group mates tried to kill Akashi, and Bokuto saved him. He ran away, taking Akashi with him. With terushima’s help, he did from the Aces, until he lived with us,” Asahi said, looking at the ground. 

Daichi blinked in surprise. Asahi hated speaking about the past more than he did. 

“But this is all in past right? It doesn’t explain why Akashi appeared out of no where,” Nishinoya questioned, before biting an apple. 

“I’m getting there,” Daichi said. “There’s a reason why..” 

“Is this group still around?” Tsukishima asked. 

Daichi nodded, ignoring the gasps and exclaims of shock. He waited until all of them calmed down. 

“Years passed since Bokuto and I left the group. By this time, many people who were still alive joined our small family, to the point where the Aces feared us.”  
Daichi tilted his head to all of them, referring to how they joined many years ago, or in tsukishima,yamaguchi, and hinata’s case they were too young to remember that he and suga had found them. 

“Ukai and Nekomata decided that enough was enough. Working together with the Aces, within a year they gathered the zombies on the other side of the city, and blocked them. They set all of them on fire at once.” 

“The Great Fire,” hinata and Kageyama whispered, as If they were nine years old again. They gave each other a look before looking back at Daichi. 

“The fire lasted for two long weeks, destroying half of the city, and along with it all the zombies.” 

Daichi didn’t need to say anymore, they were all there watching flames back then. 

The fire infront of them now grew even brighter, and more embers and sparks flew, as if intimidating the story of the great fire. 

Asahi threw a piece of wood into fire to calm it down. 

Daichi continued.  
“After the fire had calmed down, Ukai and Nekoma gathered all the remaking humans in the city. And with them, they created the 7 groups today, nekoma, karasuno, shiratoriwaza, fukurodani, aobajoshi, dateko, and johzenji. They let aces lead each group - bokuto, Oikawa, Ushijima, and terushima.” 

“Was moniwa an Ace?” Hinata asked. 

Daichi shook his head. He crossed his arms again, trying to calm down. 

“No, moniwa was not an Ace, but he already was a leader of a separate group, that eventually became dateko. But… some Aces disagreed. They tried to fight against Ukai and Nekomata, who exiled them into the destroyed part of the city. I never saw or heard from them again…. but…” 

“But they’re still alive,” tsukishima finished. As always he was quick to catch on. 

Daichi continued, ignoring tsukishima’s observation. 

“The remaining city was at first divided evenly between Oikawa, Ushijima, and Moniwa - Aobajoshi, shiratoriwaza, and dateko respectfully.  
The forest was divided between karasuno, nekoma, and fukurodani and johzenji. Until Ushijima threatened and killed Nekomata for no reason. Then chaos started, nekoma going underground , karasuno and fukurodani joining forces, and johzenji ending up being massacred.” 

Silence. The fire crackled, and an owl in the forest hooted. 

All of them were looking at Daichi, to say the obvious. 

And he did. 

“ A few years later Ushijima striked again, killing yukie, kaori, and onaga, and taking fukurodani away. We had thought they all were killed. Then a year later, nekoma disappeared, their underground entrances blocked. Again, we thought they were all killed.” 

The moment all the younger kids were waiting for, came.

“But they weren’t. They’re still fucking alive.. All this fucking time, Ushijima was working with the exiled Aces. The Aces did things to the rest of fukurodani to probably make them think that being dead was better. They… they threw them in a fucking cage, fed them raw meat, raped them, tortured them, experimented on them.  
—- Heck, I bet they thought they were off better dead! Those fucking bastards fucked and raped Akashi every single day for the past two years. The Two years that we thought they were fucking dead!” 

All of them stayed silent as Daichi raised his voice, shouting in anger. He started shaking and he clenched his arms together as hard as he could to try to stop. 

Yamaguchi started crying, his head on tsukishima, who shook and muttered how inhuman Ushijima was.

Hinata just stared, his eyes in shock. 

Next to him Kageyama blinked, as if still processing what Daichi had just said. 

Tanaka and Nishinoya were the first to react, exploding just as Daichi in anger. 

“What the fuck are we doing here, we have to go rescue them,” Tanaka exclaimed, turning to Daichi. 

“Calm down, Tanaka. There’s more,” ennosita said gently. 

“There’s more? Don’t tell me Nekoma…. nekoma too?” Nishinoya’s loud angry voice became soft, and afraid. 

Kiyoko put her hand on Daichi’s shoulder. He stopped shaking, trying to relax at her touch. 

Everyone stared at him again, realizing that Daichi hadn’t said a word of Nekoma. 

He closed his eyes briefly, and nodded.  
“Sort of.”

Then he opened his eyes, watching five pairs of eyes stare back at him. 

“According to Akashi, Kuroo, Lev, kenma, and Shibayama were thrown in the cage a year later.” 

“But what about inuoka? Yaku san? Kai san?” Hinata asked, about to cry himself. 

Yamaguchi hiccuped, trying time calm down. 

“And yamamoto, fukunaga? teshiro?” Tanaka added.

“I want to say, to believe, that they are alive.”  
Daichi winced At his own shaky voice. 

“Are they dead?” Yamaguchi asked weakly. Tsukishima was actually hugging the poor boy, who was shaking and crying. 

“I think they’re still underground. Kuroo said his group was separated. But an Ace named Daishiro… he was the one who had attacked nekoma. He and Yaku…. they have a history together. They were once…... friends, but not the way we think. Suga thinks he’s still alive. If yaku is still alive, the others are too. There’s no way yaku would let any of them die before him.” 

Daichi At this point was mentally tired. He sat down on the log. 

“But…” Tanaka trailed off, not knowing what to say. 

“I’ve talked to Akashi. The building that has the cage where the others are in is somewhere in Northern Shiratoriwaza territory. Akashi was able to get to the dumpster by following dateko’s wall, just like hinata did. The poor boy carried kenma all the way, despite being injured himself.” 

The fire still blazed, but for some reason Daichi felt cold. 

“Why aren’t we-“ Nishinoya began, his angry eyes already saying what he was about to say.  
Why aren’t we acting? 

“The older members and I talked about it this morning.” Ennosita interrupted. 

“It’s too dangerous, we literally stole from their base a few days ago,” asahi added. 

“But-“

Daichi stood up and spoke.  
“That’s why, we decided that we are going to try to get the rest of the nekoma members first. Akashi mentioned four different Aces who tortured them at the cage , where as far as we know of, only Daishiro is underground, holding the six members of nekoma.” 

“How are we going to get in? No one knows the entrance,” hinata said sadly. “Lev said he would never tell me where it is.” 

“Suga knows, he's been down there twice. And tsukishima knows the other entrances. Which is why I’m sending an armed rescue patrol of suga, tsukishima, Tanaka, and Nishinoya, our most skilled fighters and trackers. Suga knows medical knowledge too so there’s a bonus. I was thinking of sending you guys tomorrow, but I’ve changed my mind. The day after tomorrow, at dawn.”

He stared at the three of the five. All of them nodded, determined to save their friends. 

“Listen to Suga’s orders, and no matter what stay together.”  
Again, all three of them nodded at Daichi. 

“I wanna go too!” Hinata exclaimed. 

“No. I need you when kenma wakes up. You’re the closest to him, and since Kuroo isn’t here, we need you to calm him down,” Daichi ordered, starting to clean up. 

Dinner was all but forgotten at this point. Asahi and kiyoko started help, triggering everyone to start moving 

“Calm him down?” Hinata asked, staying as he was. 

Daichi stopped. He closed his eyes again.  
“Akashi said the Aces experimented on kenma. That’s why his hair is half black. And that’s he hasn’t woken up yet. He’s mentally gone, he has panic attacks. You are his best friend. You have to be there for him.”

He opened his eyes and turned to the boy.  
The orange haired boy, almost red hair in the dark, nodded, serious. 

“That’s my boy,” Daichi whispered, before ruffling his hair. 

Hinata leaned in for a hug.  
“But what if he doesn’t wake up? What if yaku san and the others aren’t alive?” 

Daichi put his arms around him, pulling him closer. 

“Do you remember, when you first planted the apple tree, me and bokuto laughed at you?” 

He felt a nod.  
Daichi petted his hair.

“What did kaori say to you?” He gently asked, staring at the grave nearby. 

“You gotta believe,” hinata hiccuped. 

“That’s right. You gotta believe they’re gonna be okay,” Daichi said firmly, as he let go. 

“Let’s go find Akashi's bracelet,” he added.

Hinata looked at him, before nodding. 

“Tsukishima,” Daichi called.  
He grabbed a torch, and lit it from the fire.  
His other hand reached for hinata’s who grabbed it. 

Tsukishima walked up to Daichi with a basket and all three of them walked to the gym. 

It was dark inside, but the torch dimly gave enough light to see slightly around them. 

They slowly reached the stage. 

“This must be the latch that Akashi was talking about,” tsukishima said, pulling on a small handle. 

With hinata’s help, they managed to open it up, with a large creak that echoed throughout the gym. 

Daichi held the torch infront him, and went inside first. It was small, but it still fit all three of them, although he and tsukishima had to slightly duck. 

Hinata sighed in relief and glee when they found Bokuto's stick as soon as they had came inside.  
On it were blue and purple brackets- bokuto and Akashi’s respectively. Tsukishima untied them and stuffed the bracelets in his pockets. After a few convinces from hinata, both wore one each on their other wrists. 

In the far back were dusty chairs and nets that they used when they had played volleyball together.

On the shelves held various items, such as old books and miscellaneous items, but Daichi found the flashlights in a flash. There were five of them, enough just enough for the patrol he was sending.

He grabbed them and the batteries next to them, and placed them in the basket. He also found the guns - two small revolvers that were konoha’s favorites, and a small handgun next to it. He placed both of them in the basket, making sure the safety was on. He also grabbed a slightly larger pistol- bokuto’s. There were a few more, but Daichi let them be. 

Just as he walked out, something caught his eye. A small book, with kaori’s ring beside it.  
Daichi always told the younger kids not to take anything, but for some reason he felt compelled to touch the small book, probably kaori’s. 

Then he remembered, on one of the last days he ever saw kaori. 

“I’ve been keeping a small journal that I found in our school building a few years ago.” 

“Oh the one that you always write in?”  
Kiyoko asked as she dunked the dishes into the water. A few walks away, the younger boys were playing in the water, with bokuto screaming hey! Hey! Hey! 

“Hey, hey hey,” suga mumbled as he scrubbed the dirty dish he was holding. 

“Don’t be so sad that you suck at Rock Paper Scissors,” Daichi teased as he sat next to him. 

Suga stuck his tongue at him. 

He turned to kaori.  
“I wanna read this journal of yours!”

“Hmmm the next time you visit. There’s still two pages left blank,” she said as she handed suga another dish. 

“Or actually, the next time you do the dishes…. which is like- oh yeah, never!” She teased. 

“Oh come on…” Daichi whined as his companions laughed. 

Three days later, he heard a gunshot. Then another and another. He was never able to wash the dishes with her ever again. 

Daichi blinked, remembering the memory. He put the ring in his pocket, and placed the book in the basket, before walking up to hinata. 

“What’s that?” The boy asked. 

“Kaori’s journal. She promised me I could read it, but I never found it. She won’t mind if I take it with me to read.” 

Hinata nodded.  
The rest of the group slowly came in, and torches were hung on rungs for a light source. 

Akashi’s words came back to him.  
We’ve used the sun,moon, and fire so long…. 

The basket with guns and flashlights suddenly felt heavy.

Daichi sighed and walked up to the entrance, placing his basket next to the one full of apples, and hung the torch he held above them. 

He nodded to tsukishima and hinata, before taking off the slippers and putting on his shoes.  
Then He walked to the hill, and sat down next yukie and kaori’s grave. 

He took out the ring and played with it for awhile before placing it next to kaori’s necklace. 

Frogs croaked their songs and bugs passed by, as the lake gently rippled, breaking the reflection of the moon. 

“I do the dishes now,” Daichi said, as he watched Asahi and kiyoko washing the plates they had used for dinner down below.. “Suga still complains though.”

A breeze floated by, and the small orange and yellow wild flowers danced. 

2 figures sat nearby kinnosita and Narita’s graves although dachi couldn’t tell who it was in the dark.

“I promise to save bokuto and the rest of fukurodani.” 

This time there was no answer. Not that nature should answer, everytime he said something. 

Sighing, Daichi walked to Onaga’s grave, and placed a few flowers. He told him how Akashi was fine, and that the boy will visit soon. 

Then he walked towards his own family members graves.  
Kiyoko met him halfway, and he gave her a nod, before walking again. 

Down below, Asahi carried a torch and was walking to the school building next to the gym, to put all the utensils that they had used back. 

As Daichi walked to the graves, he noticed who it was- Kageyama, and Ennosita. 

“It’s not your fault,” Ennosita was saying to the younger boy. 

Daichi stopped right behind them, not wanting to interrupt. 

“If I stopped Oikawa in time, I could have stopped kyotani from shoot them. I could have save matsuwaka -“ 

“It’s not your fault that kinnosita and narita died, nor matsuwaka. It’s not Oikawa’s or maddog’s. Nor is it your’s, Daichi.” 

Daichi felt chills as Ennosita called him out.  
The younger boy turned to look at him briefly before turning back to Kageyama. 

“It was their choice to stand up for what they believed in. Both ways. Oikawa thought it was the best way to get food for his family. Narita and Kinnosita thought it was best to protect fukurodani. Kageyama, you thought it was the best to stop the fight.” 

An owl hooted in the distance. 

Ennosita continued, watching the lake.  
“We all make choices, knowing that there is consequences....” 

“But we fight for what we believe in anyway,” dachi finished ukai’s quote as he sat down behind them. 

Kageyama didn’t say anything more.  
All three of them stayed there, watching the lake until Asahi walked up to them. 

Daichi nodded and ruffled both of the younger boys hairs. 

“Off to sleep. We have a long walk tomorrow.” 

Neither of them protested, and they all walked up the hill.  
Daichi turned back glancing at the lake one last time before taking off his shoes. 

The other three had already grabbed the remaining futons, but Daichi snorted at the sight. 

When he had placed the futons, he was sure he put space in between. But somehow, yamaguchi’s, tsukishima’s and hinata’s were squished together, all three of them overlapping their bodies, huddled together. Tsukishima’s arms both held hinata and yamaguchi, who had both snuggled to the older boy, all three of them snoring. 

Similarly Nishinoya and Tanaka has put their futons together, near kiyoko’s.

Tanaka had rolled in his sleep, and some how ended up on kiyoko’s, and the girl just leaned on his arms as a pillow. 

Kageyama pulled his futon near to hinatas and laid down to sleep. 

Asahi was already somehow alseep, and nearby, Ennosita yawned as he pulled his blanket up his chest. 

Daichi pulled the last futon near the torches and entrance. He zipped up the bug net over the door, and blew out all but one torch. 

He laid down, watching his family sleep peacefully. 

Once again imaginary illusions of his friends appeared all around him, reminding him of the day when all of nekoma, karasuno and fukurodani all slept together in this very gym, all bundled together from the cold winter. 

He imagined yaku singing the sweet lullaby, and he drowsily closed his eyes, thinking of Kuroo laughing. 

I promise to save your family. 

The boy opened his eyes.  
He was in a large room filled with beds.  
moonlight shone from the window, illuminating a man with his head on the bed, slunched over on a chair. He was sleeping, the boy could tell that much.

Another man was on another bed next to him. This man had long messy hair. 

He didn’t know who these men were, but he closed his eyes, suddenly tired again. 

Just before he drifted off to sleep, he imagined a man with a red shirt, and smile that looked more like a smirk.

“Hurry up, kenma!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this long chapter wasn’t boring. I was originally gonna add a POV of Oikawa too but needed up scratching that for the next chapter. 
> 
> The next chapter will show more of the past, and after that? 
> 
> Well well...
> 
> Thanks for comments and kudos, I’ll try to reply to all the comments!


End file.
